TACOMA — The constant sound of officials’ whistles blowing allowed the Snohomish High School Panthers to stay in their Thursday morning game.
But it was Brad Shaw who made sure the Panthers won it.
Shaw scored 19 of his 26 points after halftime, and Snohomish hit 24 free throws in the second half to rally from 10 points behind in a 68-63 win over Mountain View.
“We never gave up,” said Shaw, who hit eight free throws and four 3-pointers in the win. “We picked up the energy by so much, even when we were down eight or 10 points, that you could feel the momentum switching. We knew it would be a good game down the stretch.”
Shaw hit a 3-pointer with 2:22 remaining to give Snohomish its first lead of the second half, at 59-57. He added three free throws down the stretch to help cement the win.
“Brad’s a confident shooter — whether he’s on or off,” Snohomish coach Len Bone said of Shaw, who scored 13 points in the fourth quarter.
The win keeps Snohomish alive in the consolation round of the 4A state boys basketball tournament. The Panthers (20-4) play Franklin at 11 a.m. today, with the winner going to Saturday’s fifth-place game.
For much of the Thursday game, Snohomish looked as if it might go the two-and-out route. After a disappointing loss to Decatur 24 hours earlier, the Panthers found themselves in another big hole Thursday morning.
Despite scoring the first seven points of the game and eventually leading 11-4 midway through the first quarter, Snohomish soon found itself playing from behind for the second day in a row. The Panthers missed nine of their final 13 shots in the first half, while the Mountain View Thunder heated up from the field. The Thunder (16-10) closed out the half by hitting 13 of their final 17 shots — two of the misses were converted on putbacks — on the way to a 33-25 halftime lead.
That lead eventually swelled to nine, at 40-31, before the Panthers started chipping away at the free-throw line. Mountain View made another run and went ahead 47-37 on a Justin Mitchell 3-pointer.
“We were in trouble,” Bone admitted afterward. “I wish I could tell you what got us out of trouble.”
In a nutshell, it was free throws. The Panthers benefited from nine foul calls on Mountain View in the eight-minute period. Snohomish hit 12 free throws in the third quarter to pull within four points, at 47-43.
Shaw hit a pair of 3-pointers in the first 1:40 of the fourth quarter to tie the score at 49. His fourth 3-pointer of the game finally put Snohomish over the hump, at 59-57 with 1:18 remaining. After the teams traded baskets, senior Zach Wilde gave Snohomish the lead for good, at 63-61, on a bank shot with 48 seconds left. Shaw made three free throws on the next two possessions to help the lead hold up.
“I knew somebody had to make plays,” said Shaw, who was 4-for-5 from behind the 3-point line. “(Thursday,) it was me; next time it will be someone else.”
Wilde added 13 points for Snohomish, while Brad Low hit all 10 of his free-throw attempts on the way to 12 points. Nick Klop had eight points and a team-high seven rebounds.
The Panthers were 28 of 32 from the free-throw line, including 24 of 28 in the second half.
“It got everybody back in the game,” Shaw said of the 14 free throws Snohomish attempted in the third quarter alone. “It got our touch back. We hadn’t shot around since warmups, so it got back the rhythm.”
The Panthers will face the state’s second-ranked team, Franklin, in today’s consolation semifinal. Franklin (21-3) suffered its first loss against a Washington school on Wednesday night, when the Quakers were upset by Federal Way.
At the Tacoma Dome
Snohomish13121825—68
Mt. View16171416—63
Snohomish — Shaw 26, Low 12, Johnson 7, Klop 8, Wilde 13, Pecha 2, McGinnis, Leahy, McGee, Jeffries. MV — Vance 12, Raivio, Swink 4, Dunn 20, Carothers 8, Swanson 6, Mitchell 9, Garmire 2, M.White, A.White, Chapman. 3-point goals — Shaw 4, Johnson 1, Wilde 1, Vance 2, Mitchell 1. Records — Snohomish 20-4 overall. Mountain View 16-8.
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