Mariner defense leads to 1-point win

Published 9:00 pm Tuesday, December 16, 2003

LAKE STEVENS – For the first two minutes, the Lake Stevens High School boys basketball team could do no wrong.

And sometimes a good start is all it takes.

The Vikings blitzed the Cascade Bruins to open the game, scoring the first 10 points, and Lake Stevens went on to win 56-41 Tuesday night in a Western Conference North Division contest between undefeated teams.

“We did the little things well,” said Lake Stevens senior forward Tyler Long, who finished with 18 points and eight rebounds. “We were able to create loose balls and that helped us get easy baskets at the other end. That set the tone for the first half and also gave us a nice lead.”

Lake Stevens (1-0 league, 4-0 overall) slapped a 1-2-2 three-quarters court press on Cascade right from the start and the press forced turnovers on four of the Bruins’ first five possessions. Lake Stevens then executed its offense to perfection as the Vikings jumped out to a 10-0 lead in little more than two minutes.

“We were fortunate to put ourselves in position to get ahead early with our press,” Lake Stevens coach Mark Hein said. “Tyler Long did a great job at the top of the press creating turnovers. We knew they were a good team and getting an early start was pivotal tonight.”

From there, the teams played almost even, but Cascade (1-0, 3-1) never closed within reasonable striking distance – the lead was never less than five the rest of the way. The Vikings then pulled away in the fourth quarter.

Cascade coach Kevin Rohrich lamented his team’s struggles against the press early, and the press caused the Bruins little trouble after the first two minutes.

“We were ready for it,” Rohrich said. “We knew they were going to press, we practiced against it. We just didn’t execute the way we should have.

“They jumped on us early and for the most part that was the difference,” Rohrich added. “They got up 8-0 right off the get go and that was pretty much the lead the rest of the way.”

The one time Cascade threatened was late in the third quarter, when Mike Chiarelli and Andrew Pettersen combined for 10 points to help the Bruins pull to 35-30.

But a Sean Tennant putback and an Aaron Bolyard layup from a Derek Stoen feed pushed the lead back to 39-30 at the end of the quarter. Lake Stevens then put the game away with an 11-1 run to open the fourth quarter. Greg Hendrickson scored seven points during the run.

Erickson finished with 13 points and played a strong floor game at the point. The Vikings also received a strong performance off the bench by Tennant. The junior center tallied six points, seven boards and five blocked shots.

“I thought our bench play was really good,” Hein said. “Sean Tennant and Aaron Bolyard in particular gave us a lift defensively. I also thought Greg Erickson in the second half really controlled things.”

Cascade was paced by Chiarelli and Mike Matson, who scored 10 points apiece. Pettersen added eight points and eight rebounds.