After sluggish start, Snohomish rallies past Lynnwood 52-48
Published 10:34 pm Tuesday, December 29, 2015
MOUNTLAKE TERRACE — Early in the game, the play of the Snohomish boys basketball team was somewhere between sluggish and sleeping.
Facing Lynnwood in the Mountlake Terrace Holiday Tournament, the Panthers promptly dug themselves into an 11-0 deficit. Then after rallying briefly, Snohomish allowed the Royals another string of nine consecutive points.
Taken together, and in the space of almost eight combined minutes — the equivalent of nearly an entire quarter — the Panthers had been outscored 20-0.
Fortunately for Snohomish, basketball is a game of four quarters. And despite trailing 28-19 at halftime, the Panthers took command over the final two periods for a 52-48 non-conference victory on Tuesday afternoon.
Guard Mitch Morris dropped in 10 of his game-high 16 points in the second half, and the Panthers used a 9-0 scoring burst of their own from the late moments of the third quarter through the early minutes of the fourth quarter to move on top to stay.
Afterward, Snohomish coach Len Bone pointed out that his team “didn’t seem to have a lot of enthusiasm” early in the game. “We need to be more excited about playing,” he said.
The Panthers made just eight of 30 field-goal attempts (.267 percent) in the first half, and “some of that was (poor) shot selection and some of that was (Lynnwood’s) defense. They kind of kept us uncomfortable, out of rhythm, most of the first half.”
But the good news, he went on, was that “the second half was better.”
Snohomish improved its defense in the second half — and its ball handling, keeping the speedy Royals from scoring often on breakaways — and held Lynnwood to just six second-half field goals. And having crept within 34-29 late in the third period, the Panthers used their 9-0 run for a 38-34 lead with six minutes to play in the game.
Three times the Royals pulled within one point, but every time Snohomish answered at the offensive end. Down the stretch, the Panthers scored enough points at the free-throw line to push the margin to seven points, though Lynnwood’s Christian Vasquez netted a 3-pointer at the final buzzer.
Morris, a 6-foot-1 senior, gave Snohomish a nice lift with three 3-pointers, plus two layins and three free throws. A returning starter, Morris has been bothered by an early-season foot injury, but “today was his healthiest. He looked more like last year’s Mitch,” Bone said. “He was a big contributor. And if that’s how he’s going to play, that’s going to be good for us.”
Though the Panthers “did some good things … we need to be tougher if we’re to have a chance,” he added. “I actually thought we’d be a little bit tougher, physically and mentally (by now). And more of a consistent toughness. We’re sort of tough and then soft, tough and then soft. So we’re definitely a work in progress.”
Lynnwood coach Bobby Hinnenkamp, meanwhile, said his team “played one good half of basketball, and then we kind of froze up in the second half. … I feel like we’ve had multiple games where we’ve had a good half, a good three quarters, but we’re working on tying together a whole game.
“But the kids are staying positive,” he said, “and hopefully we’re learning.”
Junior guard Bryce Milne led the Royals with 11 points, including a pair of 3-pointers.
At Mountlake Terrace H.S.
Lynnwood 14 14 6 14 —48
Snohomish 4 15 12 21 —52
Lynnwood—Ryan Rapanan 9, Alex Miecies 4, Eli Edwards 5, Jared Simbulan 3, Alton Hammond 0, Christian Vasquez 5, Tanner Mack 7, Bryce Milne 11, Yoseph Habtemariam 4, Andrew Warren 0. Snohomish—Reilly Responte 2, Jacob Shogren 5, Kobe McDaniel 10, Mitch Morris 16, Peyton Plucker 6, Jake Perry 4, Kyle Sandifer 5, Kole Bride 4, Nolan Armbruster 0. Records—Lynnwood 2-7 overall. Snohomish 3-5.
