By Kevin Breiwick
Herald Writer
MARYSVILLE – From the beginning of the season a berth to the Class 4A state boys basketball tournament was what Snohomish wanted.
Friday night the Panthers got exactly what they were looking for.
Snohomish (18-4 overall) ran away with 62-38 victory over Mountlake Terrace in a Class 4A Northwest District playoff game. The victory over the No. 1 ranked team from the Western Conference 4A South Division earned Snohomish a spot in the state tournament.
“From the very first day this was our goal (state) and we accomplished it,” Snohomish coach Len Bone said.
The Panthers secured at least the No. 2 seed from the 4A Northwest District. They will play Stanwood, a 62-55 winner over Mariner, on March 1 at 7:30 p.m. at Marysville-Pilchuck High School. for the top two seeds for the state tournament.
Mountlake Terrace (16-6), which is eager to return to the state tournament for the second time in three years, will have to fight its way through the losers bracket.
The Hawks will play Jackson on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. at Marysville-Pilchuck.
Friday’s game featured arguably two of the best point guards in Wesco – Terrace’s Ryan Webb and Snohomish’s Ryan Sommer.
But the showdown was overshadowed by Snohomish’s defense taking full advantage of the Hawks’ offense.
The Panthers’ defensive traps terrorized the Hawks throughout the first half.
The Panthers jumped out to a 9-2 lead with just under five minutes remaining in the first quarter, capitalizing on numerous Terrace turnovers.
“We did some good things to keep them off-balance on offense,” Bone said.
The Panther’s stifling defense continued to frustrate Terrace throughout the first half.
The Hawks only offense came from junior forward Ryan Strieby, who scored all nine of Mountlake Terrace’s first-quarter points.
Snohomish had just a five-point lead after the first quarter, but quickly distanced itself from Terrace in the second quarter.
The Panther’s defense stayed strong in the second quarter, especially in the paint where the Brockman brothers, Paul and Jon, resisted any attempt by the Hawks to create an inside presence.
“They’ve done a nice job,” Bone said of the Brockmans. “They definitely give us a boost off the bench.”
With solid defense, the speedy Panther offense did the rest.
After two consecutive pull-up jump shots by Scott Shine, who finished with 13 points, the Panthers took a 25-14 lead with about 1:30 left in the half.
“I think it was a combination of offense and defense,” Bone said.
While the Brockmans helped on defense, Sommer and teammate Josh O’Conner used their quickness on offense.
Sommer led all scorers with 23 points and O’Conner added 12.
Snohomish finished the first half with style.
With one second left in the half, O’Conner hit a 3-pointer from the corner and was fouled. He made his free throw and sent the Panther’s into the locker room with a 32-16 lead.
For Terrace, Strieby scored 13 of the Hawk’s 16 first-half points.
The second half was more of the same story: Snohomish took advantage of every Mountlake Terrace’s mistakes.
“We knew they were good,” Bone said. “(But) they didn’t play up to their capability.”
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Snohomish-O’Conner 12, Sommer 23, Holzer 4, Shine 13, J. Brockman 2, Vanlandingham 5, P. Brockman. Mountlake Terrace-Hammond 2, Webb 10, Strieby 17, Gearin 3, D. Boxley 2, Boskovic 1, Gibbs 4. 3-point goals-O’Conner 2, Sommer 2, Vanlandingham 1, Webb 1, Strieby 2, Gearin 1. Records-Snohomish 18-4 overall. Mountlake Terrace 16-6.
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