Practice pays off for Isaksen, Vikings
Published 11:13 pm Tuesday, January 27, 2009
LAKE STEVENS — Arvid Isaksen’s early morning shooting sessions are starting to pay off.
Isaksen regularly works on his game an hour before school starts, honing his skills with Lake Stevens High School basketball teammates Sean Stickney and Shane Kaska. Isaksen, a junior guard, drains shot after shot in practice but hasn’t always translated the success to games.
“He hasn’t been playing to his potential at all this season. He is lights-out in practice all day,” said Stickney. “He’s in the gym every morning at 6:30 working hard.”
On Tuesday, Isaksen showed a big crowd what he can do. Scoring the first five points of overtime on a 3-point shot and two free throws, Isaksen launched Lake Stevens to its first lead of the night and a 51-45 victory over Marysville-Pilchuck in a Western Conference North Division showdown.
Stickney tallied 19 points and 10 rebounds for Lake Stevens (10-2 in division, 13-3 overall), which moved into first place in the North. The Vikings fell behind by 12 points in the third quarter and — after rallying to tie it — failed to make three close-range shots at the end of regulation. But they outscored Marysville-Pilchuck 9-3 in overtime.
M-P (9-3, 10-5) fell from a first-place tie to third place, behind Lake Stevens and Stanwood (9-2, 11-4).
Isaksen, a non-starter who came into the game averaging 4.7 points, finished with 12 points for Lake Stevens. His timely eruption didn’t surprise his coach.
“I have 100 percent confidence in Arvid. He’s just a confident player for us and capable,” Lake Stevens head coach Mark Hein said. “He obviously can shoot the 3 and that was the difference for us tonight.”
“If I get the ball and I’m open, I’m going to shoot,” said Isaksen.
Isaksen made two 3-pointers, both from the left corner. The first one capped a 9-0 third-quarter scoring run that cut M-P’s lead from 12 points to three. His second 3-pointer was the first basket of overtime.
“Number 10, I don’t know his name — nice player,” M-P head coach Bary Gould said, referring to Isaksen. “He hit some big 3s. That was a big difference.”
Stickney, who made two foul shots with 21.4 seconds to go, said his squad had major confidence at the end: “I think we all knew we were going to win, going into overtime — just the momentum was with us.”
Earlier, M-P was in control. The Tomahawks’ 6-0 scoring spurt to start the game was essentially the difference in the first half, which ended with M-P leading 26-19. Lake Stevens fell behind by nine points (26-17) late in the second quarter, but Ryan Legg’s steal and layin with 39 seconds to go cut the deficit to seven.
Lake Stevens eventually turned things around. Despite going to the bench several times because of foul trouble, Shane Kaska scored 12 points for the Vikings, who outscored M-P 32-19 after halftime.
“I thought we came out with a lot more energy in the second half,” Hein said, “and our defensive energy translated into some points in transition, which were big.”
Lake Stevens swept the regular-season series with M-P. The Vikings won 67-56 Dec. 27 in Marysville. Both teams have four games remaining and are trying to clinch a district tournament berth.
Ryan Lanphere and Troy Toler scored 10 points apiece for M-P. Nick Forsythe tallied six points and 11 rebounds.
At Lake Stevens H.S.
M-P11151153—45
LS4151589—51
Marysville-Pilchuck—Holm 9, Busichio 3, Lanphere 10, Forsythe 6, Elwell 7, Toler 10, Soriano, Godsey. Lake Stevens—Legg 2, Schneider, TJ Dodge, Kaska 12, Stickney 19, Finley 3, J. Dodge, Maw 3, Isaksen 12. 3-point goals—Toler 2, Maw 1, Isaksen 2. Records—Marysville-Pilchuck 9-3 in division, 10-5 overall. Lake Stevens 10-2, 13-3.
Writer Mike Cane: mcane@heraldnet.com. Check out the prep sports blog Double Team at cmg-northwest2.go-vip.net/heraldnet/doubleteam.
