MILL CREEK
Somebody forgot to tell the Jackson boys that their season is supposed to be over.
Junior Ryan Todd scored 27 points, senior wing Trevor Bray scored seven of his 13 points in the fourth quarter, and the Jackson Timberwolves came from behind to knock off the Wesco South’s top team, Mountlake Terrace, 70-64 Tuesday, Jan. 13, at Henry M. Jackson High School.
“We talked about hanging around,” said Jackson head coach Steve Johnson, whose team trailed by five points entering the fourth quarter. “We think we have guys that can execute.”
Bray banked in a tough 4-footer over taller Mountlake Terrace defenders to put Jackson up 61-60 with less than two minutes remaining in the game, and Jackson (5-2, 7-3) made 15 of 16 free throws in the fourth quarter to steal the victory.
Mountlake Terrace fell to 7-1 in the Wesco South. Now Jackson, 5-2 in league despite missing standout star Brett Kingma, who is out for the rest of the season with a broken arm, has to be considered as much of a threat as anyone else to win the league.
“We’re right there,” Todd said of his team, which was also missing junior forward Mike Wishko on Tuesday due to an illness. “We may be down a few guys but we don’t care.”
“I think we’re going to be in the mix,” added Johnson. “…We’re up there. There are some really good teams in the league.”
A Jackson victory looked unlikely for much of the night.
Mountlake Terrace jumped out to a lead and held it for most of the game, enjoying a 34-31 advantage at halftime and a 50-45 advantage to open the fourth quarter.
But it came down to free throw shooting and rebounding in the final two minutes. The undermanned Timberwolves excelled at the first part and got the rebounds that mattered under pressure.
After Bray gave Jackson its first lead since the second quarter, Mountlake Terrace post Tyler Stracener missed a turnaround bank shot in the paint. Jackson secured the rebound and Bray drew a foul to get to the line and pad the one-point advantage with 52.9 seconds remaining.
“We’re a solid free throw shooting team,” Bray said. “I knew if it came down to free throws we’d win the game.”
“Even with out Kingma, who’s one of the best in the league, we talk about foul shooting as a strength,” Johnson added.
Bray made five out of six free throws in the final minute to preserve Jackson’s slim lead, and sophomore Austin O’Keefe added two more after rebounding Bray’s lone miss, an absolutely huge rebound that effectively sealed the win for Jackson with 13.6 seconds left.
“We know who ever comes out with that intensity (at the end) is going to win it,” Todd said. “Austin manhandled the guy to get that rebound.”
O’Keefe finished with eight rebounds and nine points on seven-of-eight shooting from the foul line. Senior forward Trevor Koch scored 15 points and hit one 3-pointer.
The victory spoiled an impressive performance by Mountlake Terrace guard Ryan Sells, who scored a team-high 23 points for the Hawks.
Eight of those points came in the fourth quarter, as Sells repeatedly drove to the hoop and scored in traffic on a series of athletic layups.
“They’re tough,” Johnson said of Mountlake Terrace. “They’ve got good, athletic guards and big men. They’re a (complete) team. They clearly thought they had an advantage inside.”
Mountlake Terrace post Karsten Strieby scored 12 points and the 6-foot-8 Stracener scored 15, but after a great start the taller Meadowdale team managed to out-rebound Jackson by only two, 30-28.
Jackson’s victory made the Wesco South standings anything but clear. Mariner, Meadowdale, and Mountlake Terrace all moved into a tie for first place at 7-1, with Jackson remaining in fourth place.
“It means a lot,” Bray said, “especially coming off a loss to Meadowdale (on Jan. 9). We feel like we can (contend) with anyone in the league.”
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