MARYSVILLE – A team that has discovered virtually every conceivable way to win or lose close games in the late going this season has now applied yet another method to their madness.
Minus do-everything-but-cartwheel-over-the-backboard point guard Keaton Taitingfong down the stretch, the Marysville-Pilchuck Tomahawks hung on for a thrilling 67-63 victory over the relentless Stanwood Spartans in a Western Conference North Division game at Jim Linden Fieldhouse Tuesday night.
With the triumph M-P (9-5 in league, 13-5 overall) clinched a spot in the district tournament and trails Stanwood (9-4, 11-6) for the No. 3 berth. The Spartans saw its four-game winning streak come to an end.
“We want to be able to get that third spot,” Gould said. “You want to finish as high as you can. Obviously we wanted first or second, but we’re resolved to reality and now that’s third place.”
Taitingfong (11 points) went down with an injury to the big toe on his right foot in the fourth quarter and was forced to the sidelines with his team clinging to a slim lead over the Spartans. Stanwood erupted for 29 points in the final period to close the gap to two points after trailing by as many as 11 late in the third.
“Keaton said he was going back in,” M-P coach Bary Gould said. “But, I told him ‘no, you’re going to sit down and let your teammates win it for you.’ “
And that’s exactly what the Tommies did, despite the never-say-die Spartans who snuck within 65-63 on Kameron Gambill’s long 3-pointer with 2.6 seconds remaining.
“No way was Stanwood going to fold,” Gould said. “They’re a great team and they came in here hot and expecting to win.”
M-P’s Marquise Moses (nine points) was fouled on the ensuing possession. He calmly dropped in both free throws – the second after a timeout – to clinch the victory.
M-P has been noted for typically playing just six players. But with post Nathan Lozeau (13 points) in early foul trouble and the late injury to Taitingfong, the Tommies looked for help from the bench.
They got it from the likes of Sean Moser and Denay Stell who both played hard-nosed defense and contributed five and three points, respectively.
“They came in and spelled guys. Denay Stell stepped up, shut people down and got huge rebounds,” Gould said. “Sean Moser, wow, he did a great job. All of our bench players have resolved to make the guys who play a lot better.
“That’s what they do day in and day out. I’m just so proud of our bench.”
M-P’s victory parade was nearly thwarted by Stanwood’s Derek Anderson who scored 12 of his game-high 20 points in the fourth quarter. Aaron Boehme added seven of his 14 points in the final quarter.
“He’s just a phenomenal athlete, he gets to the rim so readily,” Gould said of Anderson. “We tried two or three different defenders on him and he just goes to the rack. Everyone in the gym knew he was gonna take it to the hoop and he still scored.”
M-P led 25-23 at the half and enjoyed a lead of 43-32 late in the third quarter after Jared Stohl (19 points) made his third 3-pointer of the period.
“We’ve been focusing on getting the ball into Nathan (Lozeau). So much so that Jared’s been passing up shots. I told Jared if he had daylight to shoot the ball. I told him I had every confidence in his ability to shoot the ball and you can see why. He’s phenomenal.”
After watching M-P jump out to an 8-3 lead behind Stohl and Taitingfong, the Spartans blitzed the Tommies with a 14-0 run over the final four minutes of the first quarter to build a nine-point lead. Tyler Monroe (13 points) and Chris Cayford did most of the damage for Stanwood, combining to score 10 points in the run.
M-P did not panic.
Stohl, Brandon Howell and Lozeau sank 3-pointers and M-P rode to the lead with a 10-0 run of its own to start the second quarter.
At Marysville-Pilchuck H.S.
Stanwood1761129-63
Marysville-Pilchuck8171824-67
Stanwood – McClurken 5, Monroe 13, Boehme 13, Gambill 8, Cayford 4, Anderson 20. Marysville-Pilchuck-Stohl 19, Taitingfong 11, Howell 7, Moses 9, Stell 3, Moser 5, Lozeau 13. 3-point goals-Gambill 2, Boehme 1, Stohl 4, Lozeau 1, Howell 1. JV score-Stanwood 73, Marysville-Pilchuck 64. Records-Stanwood 9-4 in league, 11-6 overall. Marysville-Pilchuck 9-5, 13-5.
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