MONROE — A new season, a new venue and a familiar result.
The Snohomish County Explosion opened their defense of the West Division title they earned in 2007 by setting a new team single-game scoring record with a 169-85 dismantling of the USA All-Stars Saturday night at Monroe High School.
The Explosion, who played at the Everett Events Center in their first season, delighted the 769 fans in attendance for their Monroe debut by pouring in 82 first-half points and building a 33-point lead during a first half in which all 13 players on the active roster scored.
“Not a bad way to start,” said Snohomish County coach Randy Redwine. “It’s nice to get everyone contributing. It’s a good group and our goal is to continue to learn how to play together.”
The Explosion had nine players in double figures led by Donald Watts, who played about half the game but scored 26 points and grabbed seven rebounds.
Kyle Keyes added 22 and Chris Weakley (5-for-10 on 3-pointers) scored 19 before leaving the game late in the third quarter after dislocating the middle finger of his left hand.
“We have an abundance of skill players and we have no problem scoring points,” Redwine said after his squad outscored the All-Stars 54-12 on 3-pointers.
Redwine’s only point of concern was watching his team get out-rebounded 26-18 in the first half and giving up 49 points.
“I had to go back into the locker room and rattle some cages,” Redwine said. “And our rebounding and defense improved in the second half.”
“We have a lot of firepower and a lot of talent,” Watts said. “But, this is not a game to hang our hat on. We can’t anticipate it being like this as we go forward.”
All-Stars coach Mikal Dulio could only smile at the offensive antics of the home team as the game got completely out of hand in the second half.
“I grade our defense an 8 or 9 (on a scale of 10), we were back on defense,” Dulio said afterwards. “They spread the floor so well it’s hard to cover them. They are a very, very good offensive team.”
Point guard Jamaal Miller (12 points) knocked down a pair of 3-pointers in the first 33 seconds to spark the Explosion to a quick lead and his breakaway lay-in with 7:30 remaining in the first quarter provided the first double-digit lead (17-6) and prompted a timeout by the All-Stars.
“That’s Jamaal … he could be a prolific scorer if I ran him at the 2, he’s the kind of athlete that can give you a lot of different things,” Redwine said, noting the hard-nosed defense Miller provided. “That’s the value of a person like him. When he and Donald (Watts) get these guys acclimated to what we’re doing (defensively) we should be pretty good.”
After the timeout Watts entered the game and immediately buried a 3-pointer. His slam and a falling down 3-pointer by Milton Wright made the score 29-12 with 4:10 to play in the opening period.
Keyes’ finishing flurry (a 3-pointer and a trio of field goals) ran the Explosion lead to 20 points by the time the quarter expired.
The All-Stars were actually within 69-46 with just over a minute to play in the opening half, but a trio of 3-pointers (two by Weakley and another by Chris Keller) sparked a dizzying 13-0 blitz that put the game out of reach.
For much of the second half the All-Stars, who were led by Terrance King (21 points) and Tywan Gonzalez (19), looked about as weary as the Traveling Wilburys.
Watts sandwiched a pair of thunderous jams around a 3-pointer and an acrobatic reverse lay-in in the midst of a 27-6 run that ballooned the lead to 149-70 midway into the fourth quarter.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
