Meadowdale wins district playoff with late 3-pointers

By Rian Cool

Herald Writer

MOUNT VERNON – Meadowdale saved its best for the last quarter Tuesday night.

After trailing Bellingham the entire game, the Mavericks’ Aaron Smith and Taylor Marsh hit back-to-back 3-point baskets with three minutes to play in a 3A Northwest District tournament game to give Meadowdale its first lead of the contest.

The Mavericks then hit seven of eight free throws down the final stretch, including two key free throws by Trevor Winnie with only 10 seconds to play, to hold off Bellingham and win the first-round playoff game 54-50.

Meadowdale advanced to play Northwest League champion Lynden at 2 p.m. Saturday in a semifinal game at Mount Vernon High School.

“This was a big game for us. It was these boys first ever playoff game and they showed that they were up to the challenge,” Meadowdale coach Troy Parker said.

Bellingham, which has no seniors on its roster, was in control throughout the first half and, behind 10 points from sophomore Tim Sellereit and nine from junior Tim Ireland, held a 31-24 lead at the midway break.

The Raiders came out in the second half with a zone defense that kept Meadowdale’s offense puzzled for much of the third quarter.

Meadowdale’s defense, however, held its own and allowed only five Bellingham points in the third.

Parker said that Meadowdale’s second-half defense was crucial. “Defensively we held them to five of 18 shooting in the second half. That’s probably the statistic that won us the game.”

The Mavericks finally got into an offensive groove with two minutes to play in the third period and went on an 11-2 run behind five points from Marsh to tie the score at 36-36 going into the final quarter.

Bellingham managed to get a four-point lead in the fourth before Smith and Marsh hit their consecutive 3’s to give Meadowdale its first lead. And from that point, the Mavericks never looked back.

Parker said that bench captain Tyler Chamberlain was the one who actually pointed out the weakness in Bellingham’s zone that led to Marsh’s 3. “Chamberlain saw a play from the bench, made the call and he was right. Marsh hit the three and put us up.”

Marsh finished with a game-high 15 points, that included 3-for-3 shooting from 3-point range and 4-for-4 from the free-throw line.

Julian Williams, Tyler Milam and Smith each added eight points for the Mavericks.