SEATTLE — Seattle Prep freshman guard DJ Fenner can sleep soundly following a strong high school-career opening performance in a 75-67 win against Stanwood Saturday in Seattle.
Fenner, a 6-foot-5 guard, poured in 20 points for the Panthers and senior guard Julian Mason added 16 points in a foul-filled contest.
Stanwood (0-1) was handcuffed by a deluge of personal fouls as Seattle Prep turned a five-point halftime lead into 17, 56-39, at the end of the third quarter.
“We ran the ball, we started getting out and started hitting jump shots and pulled away,” Fenner said of Prep’s third-quarter run.
Zack Johnson, a 6-4 senior forward for Stanwood, finished with six points and struggled to find a rhythm inside against Prep’s 6-7 sophomore Mitch Brewe (seven points) and 6-9 junior Nikola Djokovic (two points).
“We’ve got a couple guys that are playing football still a little bit,” said Stanwood head coach Zach Ward, who picked up a technical foul near halftime.
Johnson fouled out with 4 minutes, 34 seconds remaining in the game; Djokovic fouled out for Seattle Prep (1-0) moments before and Brewe picked up his last foul just under a minute later.
The squads combined for 51 fouls.
Despite trailing 67-46 with 4:04 remaining in the game, Stanwood’s offense came to life, led by senior Kale Schmidt’s hot hand.
A 16-4 run cut the Seattle Prep lead to nine (71-62) with 44 seconds remaining, but a couple late fouls killed the momentum.
“They played hard,” Ward said. “We’ve got to be able to have a better first and third quarter and I think that was the difference tonight.”
Stanwood trailed 8-0 before Schmidt, who scored a game-high 26 points, knocked down a short jumper with 4:21 remaining in the first quarter for the Spartans’ first points.
The Spartans closed the first-half gap, but a 26-point third quarter, keyed by Fenner’s 12 points, ignited the Panthers.
“We came out with a lot of energy … it was really important that we came out (after halftime) with energy and enthusiasm,” said Seattle Prep associate head coach Brian Elsner, coaching in place of head coach Mike Kelly who was serving a one-game suspension for being ejected during Prep’s game against Union last year at the state tournament.
“I thought they missed some shots and we were energetic and took advantage of those opportunities (in the third quarter),” Elsner said.
Stanwood’s Ward expressed no major worries about his squad following the season-opening loss.
“It’s a great test for our guys to come down here and experience this atmosphere and this programs,” Ward said of Seattle Prep, which captured fourth-place in last year’s 3A state tournament. “Hopefully, we learned something.”
Schmidt hit four 3-pointers for Stanwood and despite the loss, the Spartans were able to prove that this year’s team is considerably deep on the bench.
Early foul trouble forced Ward to use numerous reserves in the first half and eight players recorded points for Stanwood.
“We went deep (on the bench) and the game didn’t get out of hand in the first half,” Ward said.
Seattle Prep’s Fenner also appears to have a very bright future following his first game.
Fenner, who scored 14 points in the second half, displayed excellent athleticism and the ability to work inside and hit jumpers out to 19-feet to beat Stanwood’s 2-3 zone defense after the half.
“I was impressed by his poise and his ability to play hard in his first game,” Elsner said. “He’s a good player and very, very coachable.”
“I could not sleep last night, it was just running through my head … first varsity game, I knew I was starting as a freshman so that was huge for me,” Fenner said.
At Seattle Prep H.S.
Stanwood 13 12 14 27 — 67
Seattle Prep 13 17 26 19 — 75
STANWOOD (0-1)—Jamieson 11, Harris 0, Haugstad 13, Reinecke 1, Schmidt 26, Harris 0, Cook 8, Schroyer 1, Johnson 6, McCune 1, Taylor 0. SEATTLE PREP (1-0)—Hamilton 8, Roper 12, Clough 8, Phillips 0, Fenner 20, Mason 16, Brewe 7, Knight 2, Djokovic 2, Collins 0.
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