Explosion fall 148-133 to Seattle

MONROE — The Snohomish County Explosion fell to the Seattle Mountaineers 148-133 Friday night. Players and coaches were upset and frustrated with the defeat, many expressing their displeasure regarding the game’s officiating.

The Mountaineers perimeter pressure defense held Devon Greene, the IBL’s leading scorer at nearly 38 points per game, to just 21 points in the game. Greene was guarded by former University of Washington standout Donald Watts for much of the game.

Greene also committed 13 turnovers in the game.

“You can look at all the games I have ever had; I never had that many turnovers before. There has to be a reason,” Greene said.

In fact there may have been a reason.

“Look at my face,” a battered Greene said. “That’s why it’s the IBL.”

“We let them dictate from the beginning, instead of us dictating,” point guard Anthony Slater said of the officiating after the game. “We really couldn’t play our game which is on the ball pressure defense.”

“You can’t get into a rhythm when that is going on,” Explosion player/coach Chris Weakley said.

“Look at his face, that dictates the pace right there,” Weakley added, pointing to Greene’s scratched face.

Despite the Explosion’s frustration, there were positives to take from the defeat.

The Explosion trailed by as many as 21 points late in the third quarter, but were able to cut that down to five-point Seattle lead late in the fourth quarter. The Mountaineers pulled away again down the stretch when the Explosion began fouling to stop the clock.

“We’re down 20 and we never gave up,” Weakley said.

Seven of the 10 Explosion players that played in the game scored in double figures, led by Ike Ohanson’s 33 points and 16 rebounds.

“Ike’s been that guy ever since he joined the Explosion,” Slater said.

Weakley scored 24, Slater had 14, Jason Hicks added 12, while Chris Ferguson and Manny Kennedy both had 11.

“Everybody can step up offensively,” Greene said. “We are a very resilient group. No matter what adversity we face, we are going to keep trying. Everybody tonight saw what was going on.”

The Explosion was able to make their fourth quarter run by picking up full court man-to-man defense. As usual, Slater provided a spark creating Seattle mistakes.

“Coach told me to pick up full,” Slater said. “I think that’s really what we need to do going into the playoffs.”

The Mountaineers were led by three former Explosion players; Rashaad Powell with 34 points, Jamaal Miller with 31 points and Watts with 30 points.

“Those three are going to do that,” Weakley said, who played with the three players in 2007, when the team won the Western Division Championship.

The Explosion has one final tune-up for the playoffs on Sunday when they face Yamhill Highflyers at 7:15 p.m. The Explosion hosts the playoffs this year and they begin next Wednesday at the Monroe Sports Arena.