Hawks clip Knights

Published 1:07 pm Thursday, January 24, 2008

Mountlake Terrace snapped a three-game losing streak and kept their playoff hopes alive with a key victory over Kamiak.

Senior center Tarik Kunduklija scored a game-high 16 points and blocked five shots to lead the Hawks to a 50-41 win over the Knights in a Western Conference South Division boys basketball game Jan. 18 at Kamiak High School.

The victory, coupled with a 35-23 win over Shorewood on Jan. 22, means that Mountlake Terrace (5-6 in the league, 5-9 overall) moves into a tie with the Thunderbirds (5-6, 7-8) for fourth place among the 4A teams in the division. The top four squads advance to districts.

Friday’s victory was also the first time since 2003 or 2004 that Mountlake Terrace has won on Kamiak’s home court, said Hawks head coach Nalin Sood.

“It’s been a tough place to play in the past,” he added. “We played pretty good. I’m pleased with what we did.”

The second quarter was the turning point for the Hawks, which took a 10-8 first quarter advantage and extended it to 25-14 at halftime.

“We played really good defense for about a 12-minute spurt,” Sood said. “With about six minutes to go in the third quarter they only had 14 points. … We did a good job with our transition game. We got easy baskets in transition.”

Kunduklija put together an all-around solid game. He also had eight rebounds.

“He was quite a presence inside,” Sood said. “He really clogged the middle.”

In a 47-44 loss to Kamiak in mid-December, the Knights’ guards drove the lane with good success, scoring seven or eight baskets. Sood estimated that number was cut by at least half in the rematch thanks to Kunduklija’s defense.

In addition, Kunduklija was able to not only block five of Kamiak’s shots, but block them in such a way that the Hawks took possession of most them, Sood noted.

Mountlake Terrace junior guard Jake Sells scored a season-high 11 points. Sells recently was called up from the junior varsity team.

“He brings a tremendous amount of athleticism to our varsity team,” Sood said. “He’s still learning his way around. He’s got some athleticism that we need in our backcourt.”

If Mountlake Terrace is going to make a playoff push, the Hawks are going to have to play better late in games. Eight of Mountlake Terrace’s game have come down to the last minute or a one-possession situation and the Hawks have lost seven of them, Sood said.

“We’re trying to be a better situational team,” Sood said. “We’ve got to create our own good luck late in games.”