MOUNTLAKE TERRACE — The Mountlake Terrace Hawks proved Friday night that they are much more than just Ryan Shannon.
Shannon was held scoreless until he threw down a dunk as time expired in the third quarter of the Hawks’ 60-36 Wesco 3A boys basketball victory over the Shorecrest Scots.
But the damage already had been done. The Hawks built a 23-point advantage before Shannon even put a point in the scorebook.
Mountlake Terrace coach Nalin Sood said it wasn’t exactly the kind of game he expected.
“I don’t ever go into a game thinking that we are going to dominate it, especially with Ryan not (scoring),” Sood said. “Ryan took some time off this week because he had a hyper-extended knee in the last game, maybe it threw off his timing.”
Shannon’s lack of offense was surprising, but the Hawks’ depth was eye-opening.
Greg Bowman and Coby Russell each scored 12 points, and eight of the nine Terrace players who played scored.
“After our Everett game, I asked the guys afterward, not that it matters, but who our leading scorers have been and three hands went up,” Sood said. “The funny thing is, I think two hands that didn’t go up can also score for us. So we might not have a 25- or a 20-point scorer every single night, but we have multiple guys that can get 12, 14 or 16 points every night.”
The offense had balance, especially in the first quarter as the Hawks built a 15-4 lead, but Sood said the team still has things to work on. “Our offensive execution has to get better,” he said.
Defense was not a problem for the Hawks. They held the Scots to just 18 points in each half and controlled Junior Chibuogwu, who scored 11 points, eight below his season average.
“I’ve got to give credit to Marquis (Armstead),” Sood said. “Marquis had great concentration. There are certain things you just have to do with Junior to make things difficult. But I don’t think you stop him.”
While the stars for each team struggled, it was Bowman and Russell who shined inside for the Hawks.
“To Greg’s credit, he started out guarding a 5-11 guard, I think,” Sood said. “And then he goes inside and he does some stuff and he’s offensive rebounding. Greg, he is a newcomer to varsity, he is only a sophomore, but we talk to him every day about being a multi-dimensional player and I think he showed a little bit of that.”
Russell, a senior, scored six of his 12 points in the first quarter, helping the Hawks build their big lead.
“Coby is a guy that has been waiting in the wings,” Sood said. “We had a lot of seniors last year and so he played JV so he could get enough minutes and he just worked and took advantage of being a great JV player.”
All of Russell’s points came directly underneath the basket off either offensive rebounds or locating an empty space where his teammates could get the ball to him.
“He is going out there and doing what he is capable of,” Sood said. “He isn’t trying to do anything that he isn’t capable of.”
At Mountlake Terrace H.S.
Shorecrest414108—36
Mountlake Terrace15191511—60
Shorecrest—Lawson 0, Canfield 5, Oishi 0, Shands 4, O’Neill 0, Nelson 0, Shattuck 1, Chibuogwu Jr. 11, Njadoe 0, Ghebrehiwot 6, Pontrello 9 . Mountlake Terrace—Zerom 7, A. Moisant 5, Fernandez 9, Shannon 5, Lotz 2, Armstead 8, Bowman 12, E. Moisant 0, Russell 12. 3-point goals—Armstead 1, Chibuogwu Jr. 1, A. Moisant 1, Zerom 1, Canfield 1, Pontrello 1. Records—Shorecrest 1-1 league, 1-2 overall; Mountlake Terrace 3-0, 4-0
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