Respect wanted, respect earned

Published 9:00 pm Friday, December 5, 2003

EVERETT — The Cascade High School boys basketball team motto this season is: "Win back the respect."

The Bruins took the first step toward accomplishing that Friday night.

Geraud Pepin sank two free throws with 1.3 seconds remaining, and the Bruins buried the memories of a lost season by defeating the Everett Seagulls 43-42 in the non-league season opener for both teams.

"I’m excited for the kids," said Cascade coach Kevin Rohrich, whose team finished 1-19 last season.

"We went through a lot last year and we’ve been through a lot already this year with not getting a lot of respect. So I’m happy for them. It’s a great way to kick off the season."

The Bruins had the right player at the line at the end.

On a team dominated by youth — four of the seven players who saw the floor for Cascade were sophomores — Pepin provides a rare bit of experience. The 6-foot-3 senior forward wasn’t rattled by the one-and-one situation or by the timeout taken by Everett between shots, calmly sinking both.

"I was happy (to be in that situation) because I had a chance to step up," Pepin said. "It was weird because it seemed like it got real quiet and I was able to start focusing.

"After I made the first one, I knew I was going to make the second one."

Everett had one final shot to win, but Kyle Lampi’s 60-foot heave at the buzzer was well off the mark.

The game-winning free throws and the missed buzzer shot capped a final stretch that featured a lot of excitement, but little scoring. After Everett’s Bryce Levin sank back-to-back 3-pointers to give the Seagulls a 42-41 lead, Pepin’s free throws were the only points in the final 3:36.

During that stretch the defenses forced a series of turnovers and missed shots. Everett seemed in control when Tyler Levin blocked a shot and Michael Hudson was fouled with 32.1 seconds to play. But Hudson missed the front end of a one-and-one, giving the Bruins one more chance.

On the next possession Cascade frantically passed the ball around the perimeter looking for an open shot, but Everett’s smothering defense was not cooperating. Then with time winding down, Pepin forced up a shot under pressure and Tyler Levin was called for a foul. The referee ruled the foul happened before the shot, setting up the winning one-and-one.

"Those things happen," Everett coach Darrell Olson said about the call. "They made the call they thought they had to make. It was unfortunate it was made at that time in the game, but I’m not going to criticize the officiating."

Pepin and Marcus Guffey led Cascade with 13 points each. Guffey also grabbed seven rebounds and Pepin had five assists. Mike Matson chipped in eight points.

"We only had seven turnovers tonight and that’s remarkable when you have two sophomores starting in the backcourt," Rohrich said. "We knew they were going to press and our guards did a remarkable job of keeping their composure and staying within themselves. That was the key to the ball game."

Everett was paced by Niko Sievers, who scored nine points. Hudson, Tyler Levin and Bryce Levin each added eight.

"I thought it was good for us," Olson said about the game. "We have kids who needed game experience and for us there were a lot of positives. We lost on the scoreboard, but we played well enough to win. We’ll be fine, our kids will bounce back."