Everett opens with victory in exhibition

Published 9:00 pm Saturday, March 10, 2007

MARYSVILLE – Snohomish County’s newest professional sports team exploded onto the scene Saturday night with a thundering … reverse layup?

OK, so AJ Stallworth’s fundamentally-sound finish to the fast break wasn’t the rim-rattling start it could have been, but at least the Everett Explosion scored first. And often.

In the end, the International Basketball League team had plenty of highlight-worthy plays during a convincing 157-94 victory over a Washington Generals-like collection known as the Snohomish County All-Stars.

Playing in their first exhibition game at the Marysville-Pilchuck High School gym while an announced crowd of 647 fans looked on, the Explosion took the court in yellow jerseys with blue trim and made quite a first impression.

“They know how to put ‘em up,” said Marysville resident Eric Stohl, one of the curious basketball fans who showed up for the Explosions’ first scrimmage. “They really get up and down the court, and that’s an exciting form of basketball.”

Stohl, who teaches at Marysville Middle School with Explosion point guard Darrell Walker, said Saturday’s performance was enough to convince him to keep coming back when the team starts playing games at the Everett Events Center next month.

“It’s pretty exciting to have a pro team so close to home,” Stohl said. “If you go to a (Seattle) Sonics game, it can cost you $100 to $200, while here it’s affordable, it’s close, and there are good basketball players.”

As an IBL team, the Explosion won’t be confused with the Sonics in terms of talent. But there were plenty of reasons for excitement during Saturday’s unofficial opener.

Rashaad Powell’s steal-and-two-handed dunk helped Everett jump out to an overwhelming 23-3 lead right out of the gates. Three-pointers from Donald Watts, Corby Schuh and Chris Fulford helped the lead swell to 42-13 after one quarter.

Powell added eight more points in the first four minutes of the second quarter, as the Explosion piled it on to the tune of 59-22, while Walker’s behind-the-back pass to set up another Schuh 3 – call them the Marysville Connection, because both are teachers in this school district by day – led Everett to a comfortable 83-46 halftime lead.

Walker added a few more behind-the-back assists in the second half as the Explosion breezed to victory.

Walker, a Marysville native making his return to the school from which he graduated, and Schuh provided some local flavor for the fans. Walker made up for some cold shooting (1 for 8 from the field) by dishing out 13 assists. Schuh hit four 3-pointers, all in the first half, on the way to 14 points. Cascade High School product Mike Jones added 10 points and three rebounds off the bench.

But one of the most impressive players was the one nobody knew – not even Explosion general manager Nathan Mumm was sure of his name before the conclusion of Saturday’s game.

Shadrach Roome, a native of St. Vincent in the British Virgin Islands and a product of NCAA Division II powerhouse LSU-Shreveport, flew into town Thursday and was signed to a contract a few hours before Saturday’s game. His energy and athleticism were immediately apparent on the way to 14 points and nine rebounds.

“He’s a specimen,” said Explosion coach Randy Redwine, who got a tip about Roome from one of the LSU-Shreveport assistant coaches.

Powell led the Explosion with 30 points, despite playing limited minutes in the second half, while former University of Washington star Watts added 15 for Everett.

All in all, the debut seemed to be a success.

“We were expecting 200 (fans) and we got over 600, so we’re really happy,” said Mumm, who added that the franchise went over 1,000 season tickets last week. “We knew the numbers were there, but this just proves we’re going to do well at the Everett Events Center.”

“You think this was amazing,” Walker added after playing in front of many friends and family, “wait until we get to the Events Center with all the fireworks and lights and sounds.”

Just about everyone was impressed with the first scrimmage of the Explosion’s history, with one notable exception. Redwine, the hard-to-please coach who spent a few seconds chewing out Walker because the hometown boy was leading a raffle during a timeout, was not entirely impressed afterward.

“I was hoping to get off to a better start,” Redwine said.

When informed that the Explosion broke out to leads of 32-5 and 40-8, Redwine shrugged.

“The IBL is an offensive league, so it’s typical to see a team score 40 points per quarter,” he said. “And our goal is to hold a team under 84 (for the game), and we gave up 94. So we’ve got to go back to the drawing board.”

High expectations indeed.

“It’s our inaugural year, so we’ve got to win some games,” Walker said of the team’s regular-season goals. “We’ve got to finish one, two or three in the league, for sure. We don’t plan on losing.”

Especially when the Snohomish County All-Stars are the team trying to stop them.