EDMONDS — Round 2 has begun and much like the first round, the Lynnwood Royals are off to a good start.
In their second go-round through Western Conference South Division play, the Lynnwood Royals defeated the Edmonds-Woodway Warriors 57-45 Tuesday night.
With the win the Royals (8-2 in league, 9-3 overall) moved into sole possession of second place in the Wesco South and pushed the Warriors (7-3, 8-4) into third.
The victory also continues Lynnwood’s remarkable turnaround from last season. After finishing last season with a 6-17 record, the Royals have already surpassed their win total from a year ago and are on pace to double it.
Much like it did in the two team’s first meeting, Lynnwood, which defeated the Warriors by an almost identical score, 55-45 on Jan. 3, used tenacious defensive pressure to force E-W into a number of turnovers and plenty of fast break points.
But unlike the last meeting when the score was deadlocked 40-40 at half, the Royals controlled this contest, leading for much of the game. The Royals trailed for the final time 7-6 early in the first quarter. Lynnwood’s biggest deficit was two points when they fell behind 5-3.
Senior forward Brennan Grubb came out firing, scoring Lynnwood’s first nine points and outscoring the Warriors 9-7 early in the contest.
With most of the focus on containing the Rudd twins — Nathan and Jeremy — Grubb, who scored just two points in the prior meeting, proved to be the secret weapon Lynnwood needed. Grubb quietly scored a season-high 15 points on an array of post-up moves.
“We wanted to get the ball in the post and Brennen (Grubb) came through big for us,” Lynnwood head coach Landon Porter said.
The Rudd twins didn’t do so badly themselves. Jeremy scored 15 points and Nathan added 11 to help the Royals.
And while Grubb was doing most of his scoring in the first half, Jeremy Rudd was busy in the second, scoring 13 of his 15 in the final two quarters.
Once again, however, it was the defense of the Royals that made the difference.
“Our game plan was to come out and play hard (on defense),” Porter said.
Lynnwood forced eight first-half turnovers and pressed throughout the second half, frustrating the young Warriors.
The Warriors — led by 10 points from sophomore Max Ortiz and junior Casey Hamlett — never were able to get into any offensive rhythm against the athletic Royals.
“They’re (Edmonds-Woodway) a quality team, they play hard and gave a maximum effort,” Porter said.
E-W cut the Royals’ lead to one at 20-19 late in the second half, but Lynnwood bounced back with back-to-back 3s by Chris Matzen and Nathan Rudd, extending the Royals’ lead to seven points at 26-19.
The Warriors would never get closer.
Lynnwood opened up the third quarter with a full-court press taking a 40-31 lead into the fourth quarter.
In the fourth it was much of the same as the Royals — led by Jeremy Rudd’s seven points in the quarter — outscored the Warriors 17-14.
Lynnwood faces the Jackson Timberwolves (9-0, 11-1) Friday in a match-up of the top two Wesco South teams.
Kevin Johnson writes for The Herald in Everett.
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