Spartans ride ‘awesome’ crowd to win over M-P
Published 11:00 pm Tuesday, February 3, 2009
STANWOOD — It took half the game, but the energy of the crowd finally got the Stanwood boys basketball team moving Tuesday night.
Kale Schmidt scored 13 of his game-high 15 points in the second half to lead the Spartans to a 50-41 victory over Marysville-Pilchuck in a Wesco North game before a crowd at Stanwood High School that overflowed into the upper mezzanines on both sides of the gym.
“(The crowd) was awesome,” Spartans coach Zach Ward said. “We want to play more games here. We have two more home games on the schedule, but our goal is to get another one here.”
Stanwood (11-2 league, 13-4 overall), which had already clinched a Class 4A District 1 playoff berth, can secure a home game in the playoffs by finishing as one of the top two seeds in the Wesco North.
The loss prevented Marysville-Pilchuck (10-4, 11-6) from clinching a district playoff spot. The Tomahawks will advance with their next win or Arlington loss.
“We still have games to play, and we’re going to go get those,” said Tommies head coach Barry Gould. “Hopefully we’ll have a clean slate going into the district tournament.”
Stanwood trailed the Tommies 22-12 at the intermission but went on a 12-7 run — highlighted by back-to-back 3-pointers by Drew Haugstad and Schmidt — after the break to cut the deficit.
“The third quarter was huge, that was the swing of the game right there,” Ward said after the game. “That’s why they play two halves.”
Junior Jordan Solvberg scored five quick points — twice driving the lane for layins and adding a free-throw after getting fouled on the second — to pull the Spartans even at 29-all with just two minutes to play in the third quarter.
Schmidt, a junior, then gave Stanwood its first lead of the game with a pull-up jumper from the left side 30 seconds later.
“Coach just wanted us to push the ball, get the rebound and go,” Solvberg said. “So that’s what I did — got the ball, drove and tried to make something happen.”
Zach Johnson and Haugstad, both juniors, chipped in seven points apiece for the Spartans.
Seniors Spencer Elwell and Ryan Lanphere each scored six points in the final period to help the Tommies stay in the game, but as time wound down the Spartans were able to seal the win from the free-throw line.
Elwell led the Tommies with 13 points and Lanphere had nine. Senior Nick Forsythe added 10 points for Marysville-Pilchuck.
The teams split the season series, with Marysville-Pilchuck winning their first meeting 56-42 on Jan. 6 at Marysville.
At Stanwood H.S.
M-P139712—41
Stanwood661919—50
Marysville-Pilchuck—Elwell 13, Forsythe 11, Holm 7, Lanphere 9, Toler 1, Soriano 0, Busichio 0, Godsey 0. Stanwood— Schmidt 15, Johnson 7, Solvberg 10, Hushagen 4, Chabot 4, Haugstad 7, Orcutt 3, Jamieson 0. 3-point goals—Forsythe 1, Holm 1, Lanphere 1, Schmidt 1, Haugstad 1. Records—M-P 10-4 league, 11-6 overall. Stanwood 11-2, 13-4.
