Stanwood boys rout Arlington 71-46 in rivalry game

ARLINGTON — Three weeks ago, Stanwood senior Karl DeBoer hit a school-record 10 3-pointers in a rout of Oak Harbor.

The 5-foot-10 sharpshooter was at it again Friday night with another long-distance shooting barrage.

DeBoer sank five 3-pointers in the second quarter and finished with 15 points as the Stanwood boys basketball team cruised to its seventh consecutive win, rolling past rival Arlington for a 71-46 Wesco 3A victory in front of a packed crowd at Arlington High School.

“He changes the game when he comes in,” Spartans coach Zach Ward said. “I know he can shoot it, so we tell him, ‘Keep shooting, keep shooting.’ And those were huge 3s in the first half. It stretched that scoreboard out and also opened up the action inside for us.”

Stanwood senior Nate Kummer scored a team-high 21 points, helping the Spartans (12-5 overall, 8-1 Wesco 3A) beat Arlington for a ninth consecutive time. Stanwood hasn’t lost to the Eagles (11-7, 5-4) since December 2012.

After a tightly contested first quarter, DeBoer helped turn the rivalry contest into a one-sided affair.

DeBoer hit his first 3-pointer on the opening possession of the second quarter and added another at the period’s five-minute mark.

He sank three more in the final 2:20 of the half, including a deep 3-pointer in the closing seconds as Stanwood outscored Arlington 27-11 in the second quarter for a 40-22 halftime lead.

“It’s such a confidence and rhythm thing,” DeBoer said. “Once you hit a few, then you start thinking you want the ball and start getting into a rhythm. And credit to my teammates for the ball movement.”

Kummer added 10 points in the third quarter to help put the game out of reach. The 5-foot-10 guard made several tough, crafty finishes inside against taller defenders.

“He does a great job of maneuvering his body and keeping the ball away from (defenders),” Ward said. “He doesn’t get his shot blocked. He goes in there with the towers and he puts the ball in a great spot. It’s high, away from hands (and) where he can finish.”

Known for his defensive prowess last season, Kummer has developed into Stanwood’s leading scorer. He is one of four Spartans averaging double-digit point totals this season, scoring a team-high 13.8 points per game.

“He’s super defensively, and last year that was kind of his calling card,” Ward said. “(He) put a ton of time into working on his offensive game. Now we have ultra confidence in him finishing.”

After a 3-4 start that included a tough non-league slate, Stanwood has outscored opponents by an average of 29.4 points per game over its seven-game winning streak. During that stretch, the Spartans have held four teams to less than 50 points.

Ward said his team’s defense turned the corner during last month’s Curtis Winter Classic holiday tournament.

“That’s where you saw our defensive energy and willingness to grind change,” Ward said. “The mentality of the kids changed. Right then is where it switched.

“We’ve seen that defensive energy every night since that weekend in Curtis, and that was not around early in the year. They’ve bought in. And tonight, holding that (Arlington) group in the 40s is really impressive.”

Stanwood closes its Wesco 3A slate with games against one-loss Mountlake Terrace, Meadowdale and first-place Shorecrest.

“We want to be playing our best right now,” Ward said. “And definitely compared to what we were in the early part of the season, we’re playing a lot better.”

Anthony Whitis led Arlington with 13 points.