MUKILTEO — With a blend of crisp offense and gritty defense, the Glacier Peak boys basketball team nabbed an early lead, raised it to double digits for much of the final three quarters, and then held off a late Kamiak comeback bid for a 63-50 Wesco 4A victory on Friday night.
Oh, and getting 28 points from wing Bobby Martin didn’t hurt.
Glacier Peak spotted Kamiak an early 3-0 lead and then went on top to stay with Martin leading the way. He scored from inside, outside and in transition, totaling 10 points in the first quarter, 17 by halftime, adding eight more in the third quarter, and then sinking a crucial 3-pointer for his only points of the fourth quarter.
“(Martin) gives you everything he’s got,” said Glacier Peak coach Brian Hunter. “He did a great job on the defensive end, was super on the boards (with 14 rebounds), and he hit some great shots for us.”
Moreover, Hunter added, “he epitomizes a teammate. He’s as good as we’ve had at Glacier Peak, and I’ve had awesome teammates. … He just loves his teammates and he plays that way on every possession.”
Typical of a good teammate, Martin was quick to credit Austin Petz, the Glacier Peak point guard who scored seven points, led the Grizzlies’ fast break, and was outstanding on the defensive end. Twelve of Martin’s points were layins, most in transition and several off passes by Petz.
“I love running down the court,” Martin said. “And since we have Austin, we can run like that. I don’t think a lot of point guards can do what he does. … He’s an unbelievable point guard, and he can really pass the ball and make players better.”
As good as the Grizzlies were at the offensive, they were equally strong on defense. Kamiak’s Daniel Sharpe, a 6-6 wing and the team’s most formidable low-post player, played sparingly in the first half because of foul trouble and did not score until the third quarter. Sharp-shooting guard Christian Clausen was held scoreless until the fourth quarter.
Still, the Knights did not go meekly. After Glacier Peak built a big lead of 17 points early in the third quarter, 38-21, Kamiak began chipping away at the deficit. The score was 46-34 after three quarters, and then the Knights pulled within 48-43 three minutes into the final period on a Clausen 3-pointer, his first basket of the game.
Unrattled, the Grizzlies finally restored order by running off nine unanswered points in a stretch of almost three minutes to put the game away. With the victory they improve to 5-0 in Wesco, 10-1 overall.
In the late going, Hunter said, “it was a very tight basketball game and they had all the momentum. And for us to understand the situation and to get great shots and to get stops, that was really great to see.”
Guard Seiver Southard added 13 points for Glacier Peak, while wing Justin Purcell chipped in 11. Guard Carson Tuttle had 14 points to lead Kamiak, which slipped to 2-2 in Wesco and 7-4 overall, while Sharpe had 13.
“I just think Glacier Peak out-executed us,” said Kamiak coach Cory West. “They’re a well-coached team and they play well together. They got a good lead on us and we had the run (to get) back, but they just don’t stop. So hats off to them. They get all the credit.”
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