MARYSVILLE – Despite being undersized and outmatched, the Marysville-Pilchuck boys basketball team was able to fight off a 15-point, first-half deficit en route to a 79-70 victory over Oak Harbor Saturday in a Western Conference North Division fifth-place tiebreaker at Maryville-Pilchuck High School.
Two days after losing to the North Division’s No. 3 team, Lake Stevens, the Tommies (8-13 overall) extended their season for at least one more game. Marysville-Pilchuck, which has won three of its last four games, plays at Mariner in a district-qualifying game at 7:30 Monday. Oak Harbor finished the season 8-13.
Sophomore guard Keaton Taitingfong and senior forward Alan Jazmin combined for 32 points in the second half as M-P chipped away at a deficit it incurred during a 17-8 Oak Harbor second-quarter run. Taitingfong scored 17 of his game-high 22 points in the second half, 14 of which came in a excitement-filled fourth quarter in which the Tommies outscored Oak Harbor 32-16.
“We knew coming in we’d be outsized,” M-P coach Mike Lowery said. “They dominated the boards and we were unable to match up with them. So we slipped into a zone and started to slow them down. We were throwing everything at them, even the kitchen sink.”
Behind by seven, M-P scored on five of its first six possessions for a 10-5 run to start the fourth quarter. Taitingfong then made two free throws with 5:26 remaining to put the Tommies within two points.
Taitingfong was just getting started.
On M-P’s next possession, he found Jazmin alone in the corner for a 3-pointer, which gave the Tommies a 61-60 lead. It was M-P’s first lead since 1:44 remained in the first quarter.
“They are such a talented team and so well coached,” Oak Harbor coach Bryan Schulle said. “I am really happy for them. I wish it could be us, but Mike (Lowery) is such a class act.”
Jazmin scored 15 of his 17 points during the final eight minutes and Taitingfong was 12-for-12 from the free-throw line in the final 2 1/2 minutes. In all, the Tommies made 19 of 23 free throws in the fourth quarter. The duo went on to score Marysville’s final 13 points of the game.
Senior Marcus Enick and freshman Jared Stohl each scored 11 points for M-P.
“I know people say that just because I am a sophomore, I don’t have the experience,” Taitingfong said. “But I want to be the one with the ball in the final seconds. We’ve been like that a lot, but we never give up. We will always fight back, it shows the kind of heart this team has.”
Nate Metcalf scored 10 of his 16 points in the first half and Marc Ferguson notched 11 of his 15 points in the second half to lead Oak Harbor. Entering the game, the Wildcats had won five of their last eight games, including an 84-82 victory over M-P.
“We lost our heads in that second half,” Schulle said. “We got too lackadaisical when it came to breaking Marysville’s press. That’s when the whole tempo changed. They played an excellent game.”
| Oak Harbor |
18 |
17 |
19 |
16 |
– |
70 |
| Marysville-Pilchuck |
18 |
8 |
21 |
32 |
– |
79 |
Oak Harbor-Saar 11, Metcalf 16, Ferguson 15, Brown 9, Raimundi 12, Lobbestael 7. Marysville-Pilchuck-Stewart 6, Stohl 11, Taitingfong 22, Jazmin 17, Gallaher 10, Lovell 2. 3-point goals-Stewart 2, Stohl 1, Brown 1, Jazman 1. Records-Oak Harbor 8-13 overall. Marysville-Pilchuck 8-13.
Bellevue Christian 48, Archbishop Murphy 36: Bellevue Christian held Archbishop Murphy to its lowest shooting percentage (27 percent) of the year in winning the 1A tri-district playoff game. Wes Taylor led the Wildcats with 15 points and nine rebounds. Archbishop Murphy plays University Prep at 8 p.m. Wednesday in a winner-to-state, loser-out game.
Archbishop Murphy-McCann 3, Jensen 5, Wilkins 6, Taylor 15, Hagel 5, Mitchell 2. Bellevue Christian-Breihl 3, Egly 5, Downs 15, Hendricks 15, Gorter 10. 3-point goals-Egly 1, Downs 1, Hendricks 1, McCann 1, Wilkins 2. Records-Archbishop Murphy 16-6 overall. Bellevue Christian 18-4. |
Clallam Bay 83, Tulalip Heritage 57: Clallam Bay’s 51 second-half points led to its victory in the loser-out B tri-district playoff game. Danny Angulo was too much for Tulalip Heritage, scoring a game-high 28 points for Clallam Bay. Marc Robinson had 16 points for Tulalip Heritage.
Tulalip Heritage-Garcia 8, Iukes 10, Pablo 8, Robinson 16, Williams 3, Fryberg 5, Moses 7. Clallam Bay-McCarty 2, Simmons 12, Rodriguez 6, Polittle 2, Reamer 9, Angulo 28, Dean 2, Gregory 1, Lovik 19. 3-point goals-Iukes 2, Moses 2, Reamer 3, Angulo 1, Lovik 2. Records-Tulalip Heritage 15-5. Clallam Bay not reported. |
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