Marysville Pilchuck holds off Arlington 57-45

Published 10:26 pm Tuesday, January 26, 2016

MARYSVILLE — Bary Gould wasn’t comfortable with a three-point lead over Arlington.

Even a 10-point lead didn’t satisfy the Marysville Pilchuck head coach.

But when the final buzzer sounded, signaling a 57-45 victory over the Eagles for his Tomahawks, Gould looked up at the scoreboard and finally relaxed a little after a fast-paced Wesco 3A North contest Tuesday night at Marysville Pilchuck High School.

“You just never feel like you’ve got it with Arlington. They always have that ability to fight back and come back,” Gould said. “We’ve had so many close games with these guys and respect for what they do. I never felt comfortable. I looked up and go, ‘Oh good, we won. Finally,’ when the final buzzer sounded.”

Marysville Pilchuck led throughout the way but didn’t pull away until the game’s final minutes. Sophomore guard Josiah Gould had 14 of his 16 points in the second half as the Tomahawks’ defense clamped down on Arlington to preserve the win.

“We were tight and they were loose. We made too many mistakes,” said Arlington head coach Nick Brown. “… My hat’s off to them. They did a good job. They did everything they needed to do.”

It was a big game for both Marysville Pilchuck and Arlington, which came into the game in a three-way tie for second place — along with Everett — in the Wesco 3A North after the first time through the league. The Tomahawks’ victory, their second against the Eagles this season, helped Marysville Pilchuck keep pace with Everett, which defeated Marysville Getchell Tuesday night.

“This is a huge first win in the second round of our league,” Bary Gould said. “When you’re tied with a team and you give them a loss and yourself a win — that’s what you want to do.

“This second round is huge for us. We talked a ton about (the) future and goals and all that stuff but, man, we wanted to be 1-0 after tonight.”

Josh Bevan led Marysville Pilchuck (4-2 league, 5-10 overall) with 17 points and six rebounds. Tomahawks freshman Raequan Battle scored six points and grabbed eight rebounds and sophomore Freddy Brown added 10 points — all in the second quarter.

“It’s a fun, exciting time,” Gould said. “You’ve got Freddy Brown going in and scoring some points. Josiah Gould hitting some shots and getting the breakaway stuff. It’s fun when you have that balance. … It’s a complete team effort and that’s how you win basketball games.”

Drew Bryson helped Arlington (3-3, 7-9) keep pace early with 11 of his 14 points in the first half. Bryson, who also grabbed 12 rebounds, came out shooting dueling 3-pointers with Bevan, who each hit two in the first quarter.

“Obviously, that’s what we try to focus on. When you’re scouting Arlington you’ve got to know where Drew Bryson is,” Gould said. “He’s a special player. But we have one of our own (with Bevan). Some of the shots you’re just like, ‘No! No!’ Then ‘whap’ it goes (in) and you’re like, ‘OK.’”

Senior Donavan Sellgren came off the bench to lead the Eagles with 16 points and eight rebounds. Sellgren had just returned from a football recruiting visit to Chadron State in Nebraska where he committed.

After a slow start — Sellgren scored all but three of his points in the second half — the senior guard got things rolling.

“I think he still had a little jetlag,” Brown said. “I got after him at halftime and he came out and responded really well.”

“(Sellgren) is another just great player, great athlete,” Gould added. “He lit us up for six or seven (3-pointers) at their place so the scouting report changed from the last time we played them. … He proved it again tonight that he can stroke the three a little bit and makes them go.”

A cool moment came for the Eagles in the third quarter when senior point guard Tylor Morton played for the first time this season. Morton had surgery on a broken leg in October and was initially expected to miss Arlington’s entire season.

But Morton returned to action Tuesday night, making a 3-pointer and taking two charges for the Eagles despite being “at about 40 percent,” according to Brown.

“At first I was nervous about it and didn’t want him to play but you try and keep him off the floor,” Brown said. “He’s a senior, he’s a captain, he’s worked his tail off the last 10 years.

“Tylor came out and gave us great minutes tonight,” Brown continued. “He wasn’t expected to be able to walk for months. He’s back after three months, I think, and he was supposed to be out four to five. I was really proud of Tylor tonight. He’d been wanting to get on the floor and he got on tonight. He’s probably at about 40 percent right now and his heart helps us and inspires us.”

At Marysville Pilchuck H.S.

Arlington 8 12 16 9 —45

M. Pilchuck 13 14 19 11 —57

Arlington—Tylor Morton 3, Donavan Sellgren 16, Aaron Carlson 8, Sam Tregoning 0, Jaren Carey 0, Cameron Reece 0, Drew Bryson 14, Jalen Profit 0, Brennon Wiersma 4, Griffin Gardoski 0. Marysville Pilchuck—Hunter Whitney 3, Josiah Gould 16, Josh Bevan 17, Erik Lind 1, Raequan Battle 6, Freddy Brown 10, Tyler McDonald 0, Nate Heckendorf 4. Records–Arlington 3-3 league, 7-9 overall. Marysville Pilchuck 4-2, 5-10.