TACOMA – This is what Mike Boxley and his fellow seniors on the Mountlake Terrace Hawks basketball team have been working for since middle school.
Talk of Terrace’s sky-high potential but mediocre results is old news. These guys, especially all six seniors, have finally arrived.
Mountlake Terrace built a 10-point lead by halftime and held on to defeat the Curtis Vikings 63-56 Thursday night in a Class 4A boys basketball state tournament quarterfinal game at the Tacoma Dome. Boxley’s 11 points, nine rebounds and unstoppable energy launched Terrace into a state semifinal against the Bethel Braves (26-2) at 8:30 p.m. tonight. Bethel defeated Jon Brockman and Snohomish earlier Thursday night.
With chants of “Semifinals!” and “We want Bethel!” the raucous student section of Terrace (21-5 overall) announced that its team is ready to rumble with the highly touted Braves, who placed third last year.
Senior guard Christiaan Hammond tallied a team-high 17 points for the Hawks, which let Curtis back into the game in the third quarter. But Terrace played better down the stretch and made several late free throws to turned precarious fourth-quarter leads of 49-47 and 51-49 into a comfortable victory.
Sophomore guard Isaiah Thomas’s game-high 26 points ignited Curtis (20-7), which plays Snohomish at 3:30 today in a loser-out game.
Terrace led 31-21 at halftime. Christiaan Hammond’s nine points on 4-for-5 shooting led the Hawks, who committed five less turnovers than Curtis (10) in the first two quarters.
Terrace shot better than Curtis in all areas in the first 16 minutes. The Hawks made 12 of 28 field goals (42.9 percent), three of eight 3-pointers and four of six free throws.
After scoring a team-high seven points in the first half, Thomas helped Curtis surge back into the game with a 17-11 third quarter.
Mountlake Terrace18131121-63
Curtis1381718-56
Mountlake Terrace-C. Hammond 17, Balch 5, L. Hammond 11, Blake 3, Boxley 11, Mundt 2, Swanson 14. Curtis-Williams 7, Thomas 26, Hill 3, Seymour 4, Gibbs 12, Sprinker 4. 3-point goals-C. Hammond 3, Balch 1, Blake 1, Williams 1, Thomas 2. Records-Mountlake Terrace 21-5 overall. Curtis 20-7.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
