Snohomish boys beat Bethel 66-57

By Aaron Coe

Herald Writer

TACOMA – The Snohomish boys basketball team proved Wednesday night that its first state playoff appearance in 15 years is worthy of more than a cameo.

The Panthers knocked off Bethel 66-57 in the first round of the Class 4A playoffs at the Tacoma Dome thanks to a strong second-half surge and poise of a team that looked like it’s been there before.

“I’m happy, but you can’t be too happy” said point guard Ryan Sommer, who scored 17 points. “We are going for a championship. We are not going for one win.”

That quest continues tonight when Snohomish (19-5) plays Ferris, 65-58 victors over Puyallup, at 8:30 in a quarterfinal contest. Bethel (18-8) takes on Puyallup at 2 p.m. in a loser-out contest.

The Panthers pulled away several times in the second half. With the exception of the game’s final two minutes, the Braves came roaring back each time.

With his team clinging to a 56-55 lead with 2:14 remaining, Sommer missed a pair of free throws.

He quickly made up for his misses.

The 5-foot-11-inch point guard forced two Bethel turnovers, resulting in Jon Brockman’s 3-point play and another pair of free throw attempts for Sommer with 1:47 left.

This time he made them both, and Snohomish led 61-55 with 1:47 to go.

Bethel cut the lead to four with a pair of free throws, but Sommer responded by driving into the lane and converting a tough scoop shot with 1:12 left. The Panthers closed out the game by sinking three of four free throws and playing stingy defense.

“I though we were aggressive and I though we were attacking even though we were undersized,” Snohomish coach Len Bone said. “It didn’t start out real well, though.”

Bethel’s Johnny DuRocher put Snohomish in an 8-0 hole with a pair of 3-point shots and a put-back to open the scoring.

After the teams traded baskets, Scott Shine scored six points in a 7-1 run by Snohomish that closed the gap to 11-9 with two minutes left in the opening quarter.

Junior Wise hit a 3 to extend Bethel’s lead to five points, but Jon Brockman ended the quarter with a put-back to cut Snohomish’s deficit to 14-11.

Snohomish’s Josh O’Connor beat the first-half buzzer with a baseline jump shot that cut the Braves’ halftime lead to 32-29.

Jon Brockman pulled down eight rebounds in the half.

Snohomish came out firing on all cylinders to begin the second half. Matt Holzer, who finished with a team-high 19 points, scored eight points in the Panthers’ 15-2 run to begin the third period. The run, which included a technical foul call on Bethel coach Pat Mullen; gave Snohomish a 44-34 lead with 3:33 to go in the third.

Bethel regained its composure and scored the game’s next three baskets to cut Snohomish’s lead to four.

A basket by Sommer and a pair of free throws by Josh VanLandingham gave Snohomish a 48-40 lead at the end the third.

The Braves, however would not go away. They used a 5-0 run to cut Snohomish’s advantage to three points with 6:23 remaining.

Paul Brockman’s put-back and a 3 by Holzer put Snohomish up 53-45, but again the Braves responded.

Nick Moore, who had 19 points and 18 rebounds, hit a pair of free throws and added a 3-point play in a 9-3 run to cut Bethel’s deficit to 56-55 with 2:30 left.