Stanwood boys basketball team heating up
Published 12:45 pm Wednesday, January 21, 2009
STANWOOD — After some early season struggles, the Stanwood Spartans are starting to play how everyone thought they could.
Eric Chabot made two clutch free throws, Zack Johnson had a big all-around effort and surging Stanwood edged the Lake Stevens Vikings 51-50 Tuesday in a key Western Conference North boys basketball game.
Johnson, a junior post, tallied 13 points, 13 rebounds and four assists for Stanwood (6-2 in division, 8-4 overall). Supported by an enthusiastic crowd at the Stanwood High gym, the Spartans held off Lake Stevens (8-2, 11-3), which came into the clash on a nine-game win streak and atop the Wesco North.
Chabot’s only trip to the free-throw line happened during a pressure-packed situation. With the scored tied 49-49 and 6.4 seconds remaining, the senior post hit both foul shots. Lake Stevens had a chance to tie it when Arvid Isaksen was fouled with 1.7 seconds to go. But Isaksen missed the first of two free throws and accidentally made his second attempt, squashing the Vikings’ hopes for a put-back basket.
Chabot finished with eight points and seven rebounds for Stanwood, which lost 58-55 Dec. 12 at Lake Stevens High. In that defeat, Stanwood struggled mightily at the free-throw line. This time it was different.
“It’s huge,” Stanwood head coach Zach Ward said about Chabot’s late heroics, “and it says a lot about the kid too, I think, to be able to step up and knock those down. Obviously it’s your home gym and there’s a lot of energy and emotion there.”
After the game, Chabot said he was disappointed about missing a few layins earlier in the night. He used it as motivation.
“I figured I had to step up on free throws. I took a deep breath, concentrated and knocked them down,” said Chabot.
Chabot has made about 70 percent of his free throws this season, Ward said. Chabot’s teammates were thrilled to see him go 2-for-2 during an intense finish.
“It’s half nerve-wracking and half amazing,” Stanwood’s Johnson said. “I love the kid. It’s hard for anyone in that situation to step up like that, but he has a lot of heart and he pulled through for us.”
Limited early in the season while recovering from knee surgery, Johnson has been playing well. He scored six points in the first quarter Tuesday and helped Stanwood build an 11-6 lead. It didn’t last. Lake Stevens refused to let Stanwood pull away.
But Johnson and the Spartans ultimately prevailed and showed why coaches picked them to finish first in The Herald’s North preseason poll.
Stanwood’s Kale Schmidt scored nine points, all on 3-point shots.
Lake Stevens’ top scorers were forward Shane Kaska (17 points) and center Sean Stickney (16 points). In addition to combining for 33 points, they tallied eight rebounds apiece. They scored 16 of their team’s 17 fourth-quarter points.
Stickney made two free throws and gave Lake Stevens a 47-44 edge with 3 minutes, 40 seconds to play. The Vikings took their final lead (49-47) with 1:17 remaining when Kaska scored a layin on an assist from Stickney.
On its final possession, Lake Stevens got the ball to Isaksen, who was fouled in the lane. His first foul shot dropped partway into the hoop and spun out. After the Vikings called timeout, Isaksen tried to bang the ball hard off the rim but instead made the shot, essentially ending it.
“Arvid’s one of our best free-throw shooters,” Lake Stevens head coach Mark Hein said. “Nine times out of 10 he knocks both those down.”
At Stanwood H.S.
Lake Stevens1391117-50
Stanwood11151213-51
Lake Stevens: Legg, Schneider 2, TJ Dodge 2, Kaska 17, Stickney 16, Maw 6, Isaksen 3, Finley 4, J. Dodge. Stanwood: Haugstad 6, Schmidt 9, Johnson 13, Solvberg 7, Chabot 8, Hushagen 8, Jamieson. 3-point goals-Kaska 1, Stickney 2, Maw 2, Finley 1, Haugstad 2, Schmidt 3. Records-Lake Stevens 8-2 in division, 11-3 overall. Stanwood 6-2, 8-4.
Writer Mike Cane: mcane@heraldnet.com. Check out the prep sports blog Double Team at cmg-northwest2.go-vip.net/heraldnet/doubleteam.
