Glacier Peak swats Everett
Published 12:03 am Wednesday, February 24, 2010
SNOHOMISH — Glacier Peak boys basketball coach Brian Hunter saw traces of “district first-game jitters” in his team’s opening game on Tuesday night, though the visiting Everett Seagulls might have a hard time believing it.
The Grizzlies opened the 3A District 1 tournament in convincing style, rolling past the younger and much undersized Seagulls 74-38 in the Glacier Peak gym. Playing with poise and precision on their home court, the Grizzlies led by six points after one period, 17 after two, 27 through three quarters and 36 at the end.
“I’m not sure we executed all the time the way we really wanted to, but I thought we played hard,” Hunter said.
Even though Glacier Peak reached the postseason a year ago, “playoff basketball is playoff basketball, no matter if you’ve been there before,” Hunter pointed out. “There’s just a different feel to it, and it took us a little while to get our district feet underneath us.”
And despite the one-sided margin, Hunter stopped short of calling it his team’s best basketball.
“I think we’re getting closer,” he said, “but by no means do I think we’ve peaked yet.”
Everett shadowed the Grizzlies through most of the first period, but Glacier Peak scored five of the last seven points to lead 17-11 and then nine straight to open the second quarter for a 26-11 cushion.
It was forward Tanner Southard who had the hot hand at the outset, scoring seven points in the game’s first 80 seconds. Then guard Nick Persha took over with three 3-point goals in the space of six minutes to help Glacier Peak build its early lead.
Everett, meanwhile, was hurt in the first quarter by several missed layins — some just failed to drop and others were swatted away by 6-foot-11 Glacier Peak center Payton Pervier. Also, the Seagulls suffered at the free throw line, converting just one of six attempts in the first half.
And by then the deficit was in double digits to stay.
“I thought in that first quarter we were ready defensively,” Everett coach Aaron Nations said. “But then we started missing shots and you could kind of see some of the air come out of us.
“That’s kind of been our story all season long,” he said. “We really play good, hard defense, and we keep ourselves around because we compete really hard, but we’ve struggled shooting the basketball.”
And on Tuesday night, he said, those missed shots “got us a little deflated.”
Glacier Peak, which improved its season record to 17-5, divided its scoring among 11 players. Persha and forward Jack Bonner tied for game-best with 11 points.
That kind of balance, Hunter said, “is nothing out of the norm for us. I think we’ve had six or seven different guys lead us in scoring this year in different games. But we do have guys that can carry us at times when we need them to.”
Everett’s top scorer was guard Will Brown with nine.
The Grizzlies advance to play Ferndale, which beat Shorecrest, at 6 p.m. Thursday. And that game will be at Glacier Peak, as will the rest of the District 1 tournament.
“It’s a benefit, for sure,” Hunter said. “You hope that the familiarity of your gym and maybe the excitement of being in your own place brings something, too. And obviously the kids like to play here.”
Everett drops into the loser’s bracket and faces Shorecrest at 6 p.m. Friday at Glacier Peak.
At Glacier Peak H.S.
Everett114815—38
Glacier Peak17151824—74
Everett — Brown 9, McKinnon 4, Gebert 9, Dickson 5, Sontra 4, Frauenholtz 3, Daly 4. Glacier Peak — Persha 11, Hill 9, Southard 9, Cummins 8, Manning 3, Harrison 2, Harris 3, Pederson 5, Bonner 11, Forkey 5, Pervier 8. 3-point goals — Persha 3, Southard 1, Manning 1, Forkey 1. Records — Everett is 3-19. Glacier Peak is 17-5.
