TACOMA — Not a lot went right for the Archbishop Murphy boys basketball team in its Class 2A state tournament debut Wednesday in the Tacoma Dome.
The Wildcats were hampered by turnovers in the first half, suffered some defensive breakdowns in the second and never did find their shooting touch.
But that doesn’t mean they didn’t enjoy themselves.
“It’s a great feeling having all your friends out there in the stands, and your parents … it was really fun,” junior forward J.D. Melton said after the Wildcats’ 52-39 loss to Mark Morris.
Senior post Brendan Sherrer, who tied for team-high scoring honors with eight points and led Murphy with seven rebounds, expressed a similar sentiment. “It’s just fun to be in this atmosphere,” he said.
The loss dropped Murphy (12-14) into the consolation bracket. The Wildcats play Ellensburg (16-10) at 10:30 a.m. today in a loser-out contest.
Wednesday’s score was tied 9-9 midway through the first quarter when Archbishop Murphy, making its first state appearance in four years, abruptly went cold from the floor. The Wildcats spent the next 5:46 trying find a basket, a scoreless drought that included five missed shots and an equal number of turnovers. That allowed Mark Morris (22-3) to open a 15-9 lead and the Monarchs, last year’s Class 2A state runners-up, led the rest of the way.
The frigid stretch was one of several for the Wildcats, who shot just 29 percent from the floor for the game (15-for-52).”You’re just not going to win very many basketball games when you shoot that poorly,” Archbishop Murphy coach Jerry Zander said.
Many shooters have had trouble adjusting to the spacious surroundings at the Tacoma Dome, but Zander said that was not necessarily the problem with his players.
“A lot of it had to do with Mark Morris,” he said. “They are a very good defensive ballclub. All season it’s been hard for teams to score on them.”
Jared McCann came off the bench to score eight points for Murphy and Melton added six.
Murphy didn’t do a bad job on the defensive end, either. The Wildcats held the Monarchs’ top two scorers, guards Jeray Key (13.8 points per game) and Jyles Petersen (11.6) to a combined 13 points and 6-for-23 shooting from the field. And although 6-foot-9 junior post Eric Hutchison finished with a game-high 15 points, he made just three field goals.
“The problem is we sent him to the free-throw line quite a few times,” Zander said of Hutchison, who made nine of his 13 foul shots.
Now the Wildcats, who won three straight loser-out games to get into the state tournament, are in a familiar spot: win or go home.
“Coach said that we have the best team in loser-out games in the state,” Melton said. “Three in a row is pretty tough to do. So I think this puts us in a good situation. We’re used to it.”
At the Tacoma Dome
Archbishop Murphy961014—39
Mark Morris1312198—52
Archbishop Murphy — Clancy 3, Felder 2, LaMarre, Healow, Smith 3, Fleming 3, Sherrer 8, Melton 6, McCann 8, Bourke 4, Hards, Quinlan 2. Mark Morris — Key 8, Petersen 5, Brill 8, Carson, Crawford 3, Waldher 5, Van Zanten 2, Sokol, Olson 2, Trautman 4, Suek, Hutchison 15. 3-point goals — Smith, Fleming, McCann, Petersen, Waldher. Records — Archbishop Murphy 12-14; Mark Morris 22-3.
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