MOUNTLAKE TERRACE — This one was for Merle.
The Mountlake Terrace High School boys basketball team attended the funeral services of former Terrace head coach Merle Blevins Thursday in Lynnwood. With the memory of Blevins fresh in their minds, Mountlake Terrace took to the court and pulled off an impressive Western Conference South Division victory.
Wearing commemorative patches on their uniforms in honor of Blevins, Mountlake Terrace built a double-digit lead in the second half and beat the Meadowdale Mavericks 48-42.
Tyler Stracener (10 points, 15 rebounds), Ryan Sells (14 points) and Karsten Strieby (nine points) led the way for Terrace (8-1 Wesco South, 8-3 overall), which came into the clash locked in a three-way tie atop the division with Meadowdale (7-2, 8-3) and Mariner.
“I think in some little way we wanted to do this one for coach Blevins and his family. It was an emotional day for the Terrace basketball family and I thought we won that one for Coach,” current Mountlake Terrace head coach Nalin Sood said of Blevins, who guided the Hawks from 1960 (when the school opened) to 1977. Blevins, who guided the Hawks to a state title in his final season, died at age 82 on Jan. 8.
Before tip-off Thursday, the public-address announcer reminded the crowd about Blevins’ many contributions to the community and coaching achievements, which included more than 150 victories, four conference titles and three state-tournament appearances.
“That darn guy put so much pressure on us to represent the right way. We’re just trying to do our little part. It was a sad day for the Hawks but we ended it on something Coach would be proud about,” Sood said after the game.
Mountlake Terrace led by two points (20-18) by halftime despite committing 13 turnovers. The Hawks heated up in the third quarter, going 6-for-8 from the field and building a 10-point lead (33-23). Jaykob Sells made a wide-open 3-point at the end of the period.
“We had that little run there in the third quarter … and I thought it really was spurred on by our interior guys,” Sood said, referring to seniors Stracener (6-foot-8) and Strieby (6-7). The duo combined for eight points in the quarter on high-percentage jump shots and layins.
Terrace earned a key division win two nights after enduring its first league loss of the year, a 70-64 defeat at Jackson. The primary goal for Terrace, said Sood, was to play better half-court defense, and the Hawks did. Meadowdale scored just 23 points through three quarters and Terrace withstood an outstanding individual effort by Meadowdale guard Roger O’Neill, who scored 13 of his game-high 23 points in the fourth quarter. Meadowdale’s only other player with more than three points was post Connor Hamlett (11 points).
“They’re very fundamentally sound defensively and they contested every shot,” Meadowdale head coach Chad McGuire said of Terrace.
Class 4A Terrace and 3A Meadowdale are halfway through the 18-game South schedule. Now it’s time to see who will emerge down the stretch.
“That’s a fun thing. You kind of re-set your goals a little bit and the next time through you try to get better,” McGuire said.
The Meadowdale-Mountlake Terrace rematch is Feb. 11 at Meadowdale High. It will be the final league game of the season for both teams.
At Mountlake Terrace H.S.
Meadowdale99519—42
Mountlake Terrace1281315—48
Meadowdale: O’Neill 23, Shiferaw, Kyobe 2, Hamlett 11, Larson 1, Surur 2, Carroll, Johnson 3, Beucherie. Mountlake Terrace: J. Sells 7, Clingan 5, R. Sells 14, Strieby 9, Stracener 10, Champoux 3, Lechtenberg, Estrada. 3-point goals-O’Neill 1, Hamlett 1, Johnson 1, J. Sells 1, Clingan 1, Champoux 1. Records-Meadowdale 7-2 in division, 8-3 overall. Mountlake Terrace 8-1, 8-3.
Writer Mike Cane: mcane@heraldnet.com. Check out the prep sports blog Double Team at www.heraldnet.com/doubleteam.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
