Steele curtain drops on Kamiak

Stanwood junior scores 31, teammate Appleby adds 20 in victory

By AARON COE

Herald Writer

STANWOOD — In an early season test for both teams, Stanwood’s dynamic duo out-dueled Kamiak’s in a 64-50 victory Friday at the Stanwood gym.

Jeff Knudson and Scott Szalay combined for 35 points to keep the score close for most of the night, but both fouled out late allowing the Spartans (2-0 overall) to pull away.

Stanwood’s Marcus Steele had much to do with Kamiak’s tandem leaving early in a matchup of teams that expect to contend for their respective conference titles.

Steele, a 6-foot-6 junior delivered 31 points and 12 rebounds, and was on the receiving end of the fifth foul for both Szalay and Knudson.

Ryan Appleby scored 20 points and fed Steele inside with his typically spectacular passes. Appleby and Steele combined for 51 of Stanwood’s 64 points.

"He’s tough in the post," Kamiak coach Jeff Leary said of Steele. "He’s a good offensive player. This is a tough place to play the first game."

The Knights, who hope to be in the Western Conference 4A playoff picture, played without starters Mike Boyle and Scott Haight in the non-league contest. Both were members of the Kamiak football team that played in the state semifinals Saturday which caused both to be one practice shy of the five required for game participation.

The Knights missed both players, especially in the latter part of the game, when Stanwood pulled away from only a four-point advantage and outscored Kamiak 14-4 in the final 2:24.

Steele began the run by scoring six points for the Spartans of the Western Conference 3A.

"I feel I can score on anyone," Steele said. "We played an all around good game, and we had some guys come off the bench and play great defense."

Several other Spartans besides Steele and Appleby made contributions.

Brad Bodfish played solid defense and added five points and five rebounds, all in the second half.

"He did a nice job," Stanwood coach Nate DuChesne said. "We had several players come in and make contributions that won’t show up in the box score. Defensively, we brought some energy off the bench."

Kamiak trailed 29-22 at halftime, but quickly erased most of its deficit.

Dwayne Baines hit a 3-point shot 10 seconds into the second half. The Knights then got a quick steal that resulted in one of Knudson’ two slam dunks as Kamiak closed within two points.

After three points by Steele, another Baines’ 3-pointer and a Knudson layup tied the score at 32 with 3:08 remaining in the third.

"Kamiak has a good basketball team," DuChesne said. "They have some good players and we did a nice job of playing consistent defense."

The Knights kept the outcome in doubt until late in the game, but Stanwood began to pull away late in the third.

Appleby gave the Spartans an eight-point lead with a 3 early in the fourth quarter.

Szalay rattled in a layup to cut Stanwood’s advantage to 46-42, but fouled out moments later.

The Knights missed three of five free throw attempts, including the front end of a one-and-one opportunity in the final 2:22 to help seal their fate.

Stanwood led by eight points with 1:29 left in the game. The Spartans then put the game away with an 8-0 run.

"We just didn’t have enough depth tonight," Leary said. "Stanwood’s got a good team. We’re gonna feel better when we get Mike and Scott back."

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Kamiak	11	11	12	16	—	50
Stanwood	17	12	10	25	—	64

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Kamiak—Knudson 17, Marcello 5, Grounds 2, Baines 7, Rosenberger 2, Szalay 18. Stanwood—Brokaw 1, Reed 3, Appleby 20, Ali 2, Bodfish 5, Steele 34, Messerli 1. 3-point goals—Knudson 1, Baines 2, Reed 1, Appleby 2, Steele 1. JV score—Kamiak 53, Stanwood 50. Records—Kamiak 0-0 in conference, 0-1 overall. Stanwood 0-0, 2-0.