MARYSVILLE — It wasn’t pretty, but the Mountlake Terrace High School boys basketball team got the job done.
The Hawks are known for staying locked in on the defensive end, and Tuesday’s 51-27 Class 3A District 1 winner-to-state semifinal victory over Shorecrest at Marysville Pilchuck High School involved Terrace embracing the dirty work once more.
After trailing 13-9 in the early portions of the second quarter, the Hawks (21-1) stopped the Scots (14-8) in their tracks and allowed just 14 points the rest of the way.
“Everybody saw Sunday’s game (the Super Bowl),” Longtime Hawks head coach Nalin Sood said. “That wasn’t a pretty game either. You have two good teams playing for it and both teams stuck with it, we just made some plays I guess.”
Terrace spread around its offensive contributions. Senior guard Logan Tews offered a team-high 11 points and handed out five assists, Zaveon Jones had 10 points and five boards, while Gabe Towne and Jaxon Dubiel pitched in nine and eight points, respectively.
“We know when we string together stops then everything is going to figure itself out,” said senior swingman Dubiel, who broke the Hawks’ all-time single-season scoring record in the win. “Get out in transition and get some easy buckets with our bigs. Whether our shots are falling or not, we know they’re still horses down there.”
Mountlake Terrace’s Jaxon Dubiel blocks a shot during the game against Shorecrest on Tuesday in Marysville. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Outside of a game-high 13 points from Junior Kagarabi, a 6-foot-5 junior, the rest of the Scots had trouble breaking through the lane to score through the Hawks’ interior stoppers.
A 16-2 run in the second quarter, which included two 3s from Tews, put Mountlake Terrace in the driver’s seat with a 25-15 lead at intermission.
Tews bagged a fadeaway, mid-range jumper at the end of the third, putting the Hawks in front 33-18 headed into the fourth after holding Shorecrest to just three points in the frame.
“It’s not always going to be getting up and down the floor with open shots in transition,” Sood said. “It’s just not going to be that. You hope you can get some of that stuff off of your defense, but you have to value possessions, not allow extra chances and execute for great shots.”
Mountlake Terrace’s Logan Tews reacts to making a shot during the game against Shorecrest on Tuesday in Marysville. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Mountlake Terrace will vie for a third consecutive district championship on Saturday against Arlington at 6 p.m. at Marysville Pilchuck.
“We’re gonna be right back here and we’re looking forward to guarding them well,” Dubiel said. “We know what they’re gonna do, so we just have to execute the game plan. It’ll be a fun game.
“… Hopefully we come out and do the our thing and go get our third straight.”
Shorecrest will play Marysville Getchell in a winner-to-state, loser-out tilt on Saturday at 10 a.m. at the same site.
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