Defense lifts Archbishop Murphy to victory

Wildcats outscore Tigers 25-7 in first and third quarters

By David Pan

Enterprise sports editor

EVERETT

There were moments when Archbishop Murphy looked pretty good and moments when the Wildcats looked pretty bad in its matchup with Granite Falls.

In the end, the good outweighed the bad as Archbishop Murphy prevailed 49-34 in a Cascade Conference boys basketball game Jan. 4 at Archbishop Murphy High School.

The Wildcats jumped out to a 13-3 first quarter lead and then extended the lead to 23-5 early in the second quarter before the Tigers closed out the period with a 15-0 run to cut the deficit to 23-20 at halftime. Archbishop Murphy then refocused at halftime and outscored Granite Falls 12-4 in the third quarter. The Wildcats kept their lead in double digits for the rest of the game en route to only their second victory in seven games.

“We came out pretty strong and then I think we still have a ways go to,” said senior guard Jared Smith. “Our goal should be to play more consistently and we’ve got to hit more of our free throws and get more of the easy shots.”

Archbishop Murphy (2-1 in the league, 4-5 overall) made only 6 of 18 free throws. Granite Falls fared even worse, managing to connect on only 14 of 33.

Those type of numbers have been common for the Wildcats this season, much to the consternation of head coach Jerry Zander. If the Wildcats are going to be a factor in the league race, they must work on staying out of foul trouble, he said.

“We can’t continue to give other teams so many free throws,” Zander said. “It’s been consistent throughout the season.”

Archbishop Murphy’s defense has done a good job of keeping the opposition’s offense in check throughout the season. The downside is that the Wildcats foul too much.

“We’re holding them to very few field goals, very few 2-pointers and 3-pointers, but they make it up all on the free throw line,” Zander said. “We can help ourselves out if we would make free throws. Right now, we’re struggling from the free throw line.”

To start the game, the two teams combined for 10 straight misses from the free throw line before Archbishop Murphy’s Nate Hards sank a pair midway through the second quarter.

Zander liked the Wildcats’ defensive effort in the first quarter that resulted in a near shutout until the Tigers sank a 3-pointer at the buzzer.

“I was proud of them for their defensive effort there,” Zander said. “I thought the pace of the game was very slow in that first quarter. The only thing I was worried about is that it was going to be a really low scoring game and they would be in within range throughout the game and that’s kind of how it played out.”

Archbishop Murphy started the game playing zone but then switched to man-to-man defense in an effort to quicken the pace of the game, Zander said. The tradeoff was that the Wildcats then got into foul trouble.

When Zander went to his bench in the second quarter, the Wildcats also lost a little momentum, he said. “But it was a win. We’ll take it. I think we’re probably a better team than we showed. (With 33 free throws) it was hard to get a good rhythm.”

During their 15-0 second quarter run, the Tigers (1-2, 3-5) hit three 3-pointers and made six straight free throws, while the Wildcats struggled from the field and turned the ball over several times.

“We’ve just got to be better at keeping our composure and focusing on what we have to do instead of all the stuff that we can’t control,” Zander said.

“We got a little lackadaisical,” said junior J.D. Melton. “But definitely in the third quarter, we came back strong. Our defense was better than it had been the whole game.”

The talk at halftime for Archbishop Murphy focused mostly on picking up the intensity and avoiding another dropoff.

“We have to play strong all the way through,” Smith said. “We just came out in the third quarter ready to play.”

To start out the quarter, Granite Falls cut the lead to 23-21 when Ryan Hillery made one of two free throws. Archbishop Murphy responded with three consecutive baskets by senior Elijah Wright, Hards and Davon Fleming to boost the lead back to 29-21. The Tigers closed the gap to 29-24 when they made three of six free throws.

Senior Joey Clancy then made back-to-back shots and senior Ryan Bourke scored on a put-back basket to extend the Wildcats’ lead to 35-24 as the teams headed for the fourth quarter.

“(Clancy) hit a couple of (shots) when we were kind of struggling,” Zander said. “We went seven possessions without any points. He hit one baseline jumper that we desperately needed and that’s his game. … He really stepped up off the bench for us and played well.”

Clancy made the first basket of the fourth quarter and Archbishop Murphy stayed in command the rest of the way.

Melton and senior Brendan Sherrer each scored 8 points, while Bourke and Clancy each had 6. Granite Falls was led by Max Whitt (11 points) and Brad Beard (10).

“Our defense was amazing,” Melton said. “That’s what we’ve really stressed this year — defense. We had a little trouble with (our offense). … The offensive part will come. The defense is definitely there.”

Zander also sees defense as the team’s strength.

“For me that is the most important thing,” he said. “As long as we, every single night, come out and play good solid defense. I think we’ll be OK,”

Coming into Friday’s contest, the Wildcats had lost three straight games but the team made progress in those games, according to Melton.

“We lost the games but we got better,” he said. “We didn’t play to our full potential. We’re starting to roll now and it’s really good because we’re just getting into league play. We’re right where we need to be.”