Boys prep playoff basketball roundup
Published 1:30 am Saturday, February 18, 2017
Down by 13 points at halftime, the Edmonds-Woodway boys basketball team questioned itself, but never doubted itself.
The Warriors’ resiliency allowed them to stage a big second-half rally and edge Arlington 59-58 Saturday in a 3A District 1 tournament consolation contest at Jackson High School. The win clinched a berth to the state tournament regional round for the Warriors.
Everett wasn’t able to join Edmonds-Woodway at regionals. The Seagulls fell behind big early and couldn’t catch up in a 60-44 loss to Squalicum. The Storm move on, and the Seagulls’ season is over.
Edmonds-Woodway 59, Arlington 58
Down by three points at the end of the first quarter, the Eagles owned the next eight minutes, outscoring the Warriors 23-7 in the second period to take a 37-24 halftime lead. But Edmonds-Woodway began the third quarter with a 15-2 run to tie the game at 39-39.
“At halftime, the coaches told us to get fired up,” said Warriors guard Keaton McKay, who scored 18 points. “We knew we didn’t come all this way to lose, so we got the fire and kept it going. We turned up our energy on defense in the second half.”
The lead exchanged hands several times until the Warriors took a 55-54 advantage with 2:55 remaining and made six free throws in the final minute to hold on.
“It was great to see the guys stay composed,” Edmonds-Woodway coach Robert Brown said. “In the first half we missed layups and free throws, turned the ball over. We were hesitant and indecisive. We just told them to be themselves and play their game. We got more 50-50 balls to go our way (in the second half).”
Drew Bryson made five 3-pointers and scored 29 points for the Eagles.
“They picked up their intensity, and our inexperience hurt us,” Arlington coach Nick Brown said. “They play an aggressive, upbeat (defensive) style that we hadn’t seen much of this season, and it was hard to get used to.”
Squalicum 60, Everett 44
Squalicum outscored Everett 18-4 in the second quarter to take control of the contest, with Storm guard Damek Mitchell scoring 10 of his game-high 27 points in the period.
“Both teams played tough,” Storm coach David Dickson said. “They had an advantage inside, but I was proud of the way our posts guarded the interior to negate their size advantage. We shot better from the perimeter and forced turnovers.”
Squalicum led by as many as 30 points in the third quarter.
“We had some early turnovers and defensive breakdowns,” Seagulls coach Bryce Levin said. “Squalicum had a great game plan, and they made some tough shots. But we battled right to the end. We never gave up.”
Although his team fell short of the state tournament, Levin was pleased with the progress it made this season.
“We dropped some games early when we had leads, but we hit our stride later on and beat some teams we needed to beat,” he said. “We got better every game.”
4A DISTRICT
Kamiak 69, Monroe 60
MILL CREEK — A back-and-forth game turned in the Knights’ favor early in the fourth quarter when Monroe center Coby Kyle fouled out.
The Knights outscored the Bearcats 24-12 in the final period to earn the final 4A District berth into next week’sstate regionals.
“Our guys are elated,” Kamiak coach Cory West said. “We set goals to win district and to get to the Tacoma Dome. And we set a goal to get the school record of 18 wins and tonight was our 18th win.”
Carson Tuttle led Kamiak (18-7) with 25 points. Christian Clausen added 20.
Justin Folz led Monroe with 14 points. The Bearcats finished their season with a 17-7 record.
1A TRI-DISTRICT
King’s 68, Mount Baker 57
MOUNTLAKE TERRACE — King’s blew open a close game by scoring 30 points in the fourth quarter, 17 of them from the foul line.
The win earned the defending state champion Knights (20-5) a berth in next week’s 1A state regional playoffs. As one of the top eight teams in the 1A state RPI rankings, King’s will be in Yakima the first week of March to defend its state title no matter what happens in its regional game.
“We didn’t take our first lead until late in the third quarter,” King’s coach Rick Skeen said. “We hit three threes in four possessions to create a lead. Then we hit 17-for-22 from the foul line in the fourth quarter to hold on.”
Dawson Porcello led King’s with 25 points. Luke Wicks added 19.
