Mountlake Terrace junior Rayshaun Connor makes his way to the rim for a layup during a WIAA 3A Boys Basketball quarterfinal against Mount Spokane on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024, at the Tacoma Dome in Tacoma, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
TACOMA — The Mountlake Terrace High School boys basketball team ran into a well-oiled machine in the Mt. Spokane Wildcats on Thursday afternoon.
The fifth-seeded Hawks couldn’t keep pace with No. 6 Mt. Spokane and fell 82-58 in a Class 3A Hardwood Classic quarterfinals game at the Tacoma Dome.
Terrace (22-4) will play in the consolation bracket Friday at 10:30 a.m. against No. 17 Lincoln (Tacoma). Mt. Spokane advanced to face No. 2 Eastside Catholic in the semifinals at 5:30 p.m. Friday.
“We needed about a week to prepare for these guys, and that’s just to be competitive,” Hawks head coach Nalin Sood said. “They’re good, they’re skilled, they execute and they play cerebral. That’s why that game went the way it did.”
Wildcats 6-foot-5 senior guard Ryan Lafferty torched Mountlake Terrace to the tune of 27 points, five rebounds and six assists while going 12-for-13 from the floor as Mt. Spokane (22-4) finished 34-for-53 from the field (64.2%). Andrew Rayment added 19 points on 9-of-14 shooting.
Mount Spokane’s Ryan Lafferty scores on a putback during a WIAA 3A Boys Basketball quarterfinal against Mountlake Terrace on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024, at the Tacoma Dome in Tacoma, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Mountlake Terrace senior forward Zaveon Jones contributed team highs of 20 points and eight rebounds and senior Jaxon Dubiel finished with 14 points and four boards.
The Hawks trailed 22-16 at the end of the first period before Mt. Spokane took full control in the second quarter.
After the Wildcats took a 14-point lead, Hawks senior Gabe Towne dropped in a 3-pointer from the corner at the 2:09 mark in the second, bringing Terrace within single digits at 36-27.
Lafferty nailed a 3 from the top of the key right before the half, then Dubiel hit a three-quarter-court shot at the buzzer as Terrace went into intermission trailing 43-31.
In the second half, things got worse for the Hawks. Nalu Vargas made a trey to lift the Wildcats ahead 56-41 with 3:53 remaining in the third quarter and another to put them ahead 60-43.
Entering the final frame with a 16-point lead, Mt. Spokane finished it off in the fourth.
“We have a chance to turn it into a good feeling tomorrow,” Sood said. “I have to get over this and the coaches do. Kids bounce back pretty quickly. If the worst thing that’s happening is that we have to play a little earlier tomorrow and go play basketball, they’ve got good lives.”
Mountlake Terrace senior Logan Tews passes out of a double team during a WIAA 3A Boys Basketball quarterfinal against Mount Spokane on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024, at the Tacoma Dome in Tacoma, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Mountlake Terrace’s Logan Tews is blocked by Andrew Rayment during a WIAA 3A Boys Basketball quarterfinal against Mount Spokane on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024, at the Tacoma Dome in Tacoma, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Mountlake Terrace senior Zaveon Jones drives on a defender during a WIAA 3A Boys Basketball quarterfinal against Mount Spokane on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024, at the Tacoma Dome in Tacoma, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Mountlake Terrace’s Brody Myers-Little goes up for a contested layup during a WIAA 3A Boys Basketball quarterfinal against Mount Spokane on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024, at the Tacoma Dome in Tacoma, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Mountlake Terrace junior Rayshaun Connor tries to split the defense during a WIAA 3A Boys Basketball quarterfinal against Mount Spokane on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024, at the Tacoma Dome in Tacoma, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Mount Spokane’s Ryan Lafferty scores on a putback during a WIAA 3A Boys Basketball quarterfinal against Mountlake Terrace on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024, at the Tacoma Dome in Tacoma, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Mountlake Terrace’s Svayjeet Singh tries for an up-and-under during a WIAA 3A Boys Basketball quarterfinal against Mount Spokane on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024, at the Tacoma Dome in Tacoma, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Mountlake Terrace senior Zaveon Jones tries to muscle his way to the rim during a WIAA 3A Boys Basketball quarterfinal against Mount Spokane on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024, at the Tacoma Dome in Tacoma, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Mountlake Terrace’s Rayshaun Connor shoots a three during a WIAA 3A Boys Basketball quarterfinal against Mount Spokane on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024, at the Tacoma Dome in Tacoma, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Mountlake Terrace’s Brody Myers-Little hits a buzzer-beater from well beyond half court during a WIAA 3A Boys Basketball quarterfinal against Mount Spokane on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024, at the Tacoma Dome in Tacoma, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Mountlake Terrace’s Logan Tews keeps possession of a loose ball during a WIAA 3A Boys Basketball quarterfinal against Mount Spokane on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024, at the Tacoma Dome in Tacoma, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Mountlake Terrace junior Brody Myers-Little scores on a steal and breakaway during a WIAA 3A Boys Basketball quarterfinal against Mount Spokane on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024, at the Tacoma Dome in Tacoma, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Mountlake Terrace’s Svayjeet Singh loses an errant pass during a WIAA 3A Boys Basketball quarterfinal against Mount Spokane on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024, at the Tacoma Dome in Tacoma, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
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