STANWOOD — There’s not much flash to Jerodan Dodge’s game but there’s plenty of substance.
Dodge, a workman-like senior on the unbeaten Lake Stevens High School boys basketball team, is not a starter for the Vikings. But he knows how to finish, and so does his senior-loaded squad.
Coming off the bench, Dodge make some key hustle plays and scored all five of his points in the fourth quarter to help Lake Stevens rally past the Stanwood Spartans for a 64-55 win on Friday at Stanwood High.
Dodge was 5-for-6 on free throws during a 22-9 game-ending scoring run for Lake Stevens, which improved to 2-0 in the Western Conference North Division (3-0 overall). It was a key early-season test for the Vikings, picked by North coaches to finish first in The Herald’s preseason coaches’ poll. Stanwood (1-1, 1-3) was predicted to take second.
Lake Stevens, which forced 22 turnovers, made just four of 11 free throws in the first half yet still took a seven-point lead to the break. But in the fourth quarter, after Stanwood roared to a 46-42 advantage, Dodge and the Vikings forced a barrage of miscues and finally connected at the foul line.
“He’s a great teammate,” Lake Stevens coach Mark Hein said of Dodge, a 6-foot forward. “He’s smart. He’s crafty. He’s really quiet. He just does his job.”
With his team leading 51-46 and 1 minute, 49 seconds to go, Dodge made two foul shots. It ignited a victory-clinching stretch in which Lake Stevens made 13 of 14 free throws.
“Jerodan, he just put two in and that just gave us confidence. We just finished the whole game strong,” said Mike Schneider, a senior guard whose strong all-around performance (13 points, four assists, three steals) helped propel Lake Stevens.
Senior forward Shane Kaska (17 points, eight rebounds) and senior guard Aaron Maw (13 points, nine boards, four assists) also stepped up for the Vikings, who play host to Monroe on Tuesday.
Without a defense-fueled scoring flurry, Lake Stevens never would have been in position to win. The Vikings didn’t score the first 4 minutes of the fourth and their 42-37 lead turned into a 46-42 deficit, thanks to hot-shooting Stanwood guard Drew Haugstad. He scored nine straight points to open the fourth, including a three-point play and two 3-pointers.
Coach Hein switched to full-court, man-to-man defense and it paid off. Lake Stevens swiped several steals and created quick layins, fighting its way into the lead.
“We just were careless with the ball. If you’re going to have (22) turnovers, you’re not going to win the game,” Stanwood coach Zach Ward said.
“I was really proud of our guards. Defensively I thought we created a lot of pressure,” said Hein.
The Vikings seemed to have as much energy in the fourth as in the first half.
“We’ve got eight players that could start. Our team is so (deep),” Schneider said.
Stanwood’s scoring leaders were Haugstad (20 points, four 3s) and powerful post Zack Johnson. Johnson finished with 14 points and 14 rebounds, doing most of his damage in the third quarter after getting in foul trouble in the first half.
“Zack Johnson played great. We had a hard time dealing with him in the second half,” Hein said of the burly, relentless senior.
But Lake Stevens held Johnson scoreless for most of the fourth and the Vikings limited Stanwood guard Kale Schmidt to three points. Schmidt came into the game averaging a team-high 21 points.
At Stanwood H.S.
Lake Stevens8241022—64
Stanwood9161218—0
Lake Stevens — Finley 4, Schneider 13, Hanson 9, Maw 13, Kaska 17, J. Dodge 5, Vandegrift, Israel 3. Stanwood — Haugstad 20, Reinecke 8, Schmidt 3, Johnson 14, McCune 8, Schroyer 2, Taylor, Jamieson, Cook. 3-point goals — Hanson 1, Maw 1, Israel 1, Haugstad 4, Reinecke 2, Schmidt 1. Records — Lake Stevens 2-0 in division, 3-0 overall. Stanwood 1-1, 1-3.
Mike Cane: mcane@heraldnet.com. Check out the prep sports blog Double Team at www.heraldnet.com/doubleteam.
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