MUKILTEO — This season may not have gone exactly the way the Lake Stevens boys basketball team envisioned it when the season began, but they put it all together Friday night to keep it going at least one more game.
Devin Stoen scored 20 points and Moussa Sanoh added 16 to pace the offense while the defense frustrated a potent Kamiak team in a 67-51 victory in a 4A District 1 loser-out consolation quarterfinal game at Kamiak H.S.
Kamiak’s season is finished at 10-12.
“All of us know this season isn’t exactly how we envisioned it, but these guys, to their credit, continue to work hard, be resilient and get onto the next game,” said Lake Stevens coach Mark Hein. “I’m really proud of them for that. It’s been a really tough season for wins and losses, but we know we’re capable of some good games and it was nice tonight to really put it all together.”
Tied at 27 at halftime, Sanoh came out on fire in the second half, scoring Lake Stevens’ first 10 points of the third quarter. But it wasn’t until the second half of the quarter when the defense made its move. The Vikings held Kamiak 0-for-6 from the floor and forced two turnovers to go on a 7-0 run to end the quarter with a 44-37 lead.
In the fourth quarter Lake Stevens’ offense took over, scoring 23 points to pull away for the win.
But really the night belonged to the Vikings’ defense. Led by Sanoh’s job on Wesco-leading scorer Imaan Vicente and Tomson’s lock-down defense on Knights point guard Josh Wisnubroto, Lake Stevens held Kamiak to more than 21 points under its season average. It was Kamiak’s second-lowest point total of the season.
“I thought we played good team defense overall,” Hein said. “I thought Moussa made (Imaan) work. Dakota Tomson defense was Wisnubroto was huge for us too. Both of those guys (Vicente and Wisnubroto) knew they were guarded tonight.”
Sanoh, who helped hold Vicente to just 12 points, went 8-for-11 from the field.
“I thought getting to the rim tonight was huge for (Moussa),” Hein said. “He didn’t rely on mid-range jumpers. … It’s kind of what we envisioned for him but he’s been a little sporadic with that, so it was fun to see it come together for him on both ends of the court.”
Lake Stevens now faces the Warriors in a loser-out consolation semifinal game next Tuesday. The Vikings lost to Edmonds-Woodway 59-49 on Jan. 15.
At Kamiak H.S.
Lake Stevens13141723—67
Kamiak5221014—51
Lake Stevens—Dakota Tomson 9, Frazer Carpenter 0, Devin Stoen 20, Jared Rahn 7, Joe Hendrickson 0, Ryan Lian 13, Moussa Sanoh 16, CJ Lat 2, Jacob Stone 0, Brice Dodge 0, Tory Rothgeb 0. Kamiak—Josh Wisnubroto 5, Chance Lord 0, Tyler Nielsen 6, Aman Hussein 10, Imaan Vicente 12, Jonathan Lee 0, Drew Blacksmith 4, Brock Merkley 6, Brandon Wright 0, Henderson Belk 8, Simran Mand 0. 3-point goals— Lian 3, Hussein 2, Merkley 2, Wisnubroto 1, Tomson 1, Nielsen 1. Records—Lake Stevens 8-14 overall. Kamiak 10-12.
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