Sells not too late to lift Hawks
Published 4:40 pm Wednesday, January 7, 2009
EVERETT — Nalin Sood’s only post-game criticism of Ryan Sells Tuesday was not related to basketball.
Sells generated a crucial multi-faceted effort in Mountlake Terrace High School’s 57-48 Western Conference South Division boys basketball victory against the Mariner Marauders. Sood, Mountlake Terrace’s head coach, had plenty of praise for Sells afterward.
But the coach ribbed Sells, who scored eight of his 12 total points in the fourth quarter, for an off-court slipup he doesn’t want Sells to repeat.
“He was late to my class today and I gave him the chilliest stare you could probably ever give a kid,” said Sood, who teaches Sells in a Web authoring class at Terrace. “So after the game today that was the only thing I said to him: Make sure you get to class on time.”
Sells stepped up in time to help rescue the Hawks in a key division clash. He made two baskets and four free throws in the final five minutes, and Terrace (6-0 Wesco South, 6-2 overall) outlasted Mariner (4-1, 5-2).
Sells, a 6-foot-2 senior forward who didn’t play basketball last season, was 4-for-5 on foul shots down the stretch. He was part of Terrace’s balanced scoring effort that included forward Paul Clingan (13 points), guard Jacob Champoux (12 points) and post Karsten Strieby (nine points, nine rebounds).
Last season Mountlake was 0-2 against Mariner so the Hawks had plenty of motivation, said Sells: “We were going to make a statement coming in, showing them that we (aren’t) the team we were last year.”
Terrace scored the first four points of the fourth quarter on back-to-back shots by Strieby and built a 41-36 advantage. Mariner got within one point (41-40) on a leaning shot by Michael Minor but the Marauders never got closer than two the rest of the way.
Minor tallied a game-high 15 points for Mariner, which endured its first division loss of the season and was just 19 of 53 (35.8 percent) from the field. “That explains the whole game. You can’t win games shooting like that,” Mariner coach Dexter Griffen said.
Asked if Terrace’s defense had an impact, Griffen said, “They didn’t do anything we haven’t seen before. We just weren’t making shots.”
Earlier in the game Mariner’s offense was better. After leading by as many as eight points in the second quarter, Mariner had a one-point lead over Terrace at halftime, 24-23. Mariner fell behind 10-4 in the first quarter but got hot and finished 7 of 14 from the field in the period. But it was just 3 for 13 in the second quarter and committed five turnovers.
Champoux, a reserve guard, provided a huge boost for Terrace. He scored eight points in the first half, including two 3-pointers. He also swiped two steals, making an impact on both ends of the court.
Sells also contributed with and without the ball. He pestered Mariner guard Tevin Dillon, who had a poor shooting night and scored three points in the second half. Dillon entered the game averaging 12 points.
Sells’ defensive effort pleased his coach.
“The only time I have to really get on Ryan is one, to get to class on time and two, to realize what kind of a defender he can be,” Sood said.
At Mariner H.S.
M. Terrace13101420—57
Mariner1771212—48
Mountlake Terrace—J. Sells 3, Clingan 13, R. Sells 12, Strieby 9, Stracener 8, Champoux 12, Estrada, Lechtenberg. Mariner—Minor 15, Doerscher 7, Dillon 8, Malysheff 2, Purnell 12, McCulloch 2, Stepura, Yusuf 2, Kiehl, Zerahaimanot. 3-point goals—Clingan 1, Strieby 1, Champoux 2, Minor 1. Records—Mountlake Terrace 6-0 in division, 6-2 overall. Mariner 4-1, 5-2.
Writer Mike Cane: mcane@heraldnet.com. Check out the prep sports blog Double Team at cmg-northwest2.go-vip.net/heraldnet/doubleteam.
