ARLINGTON
Not this time.
Shorecrest beat Meadowdale 64-57 in overtime on Jan. 25, an upset of the then 10th-ranked Mavericks that was the Scots’ biggest win of the season.
But in the rematch in the 3A District 1 consolation bracket with the season on the line, it was No. 9 Meadowdale that got the job done.
Guard Paul Werner and 6-foot, 9-inch center Evan Matteson both hit key shots to turn the momentum the Mavericks’ way in the fourth quarter as they outlasted Shorecrest 59-48 Feb. 25 at Arlington High School.
“We really wanted to beat them because of last time obviously,” Matteson said.
The game was tied at 38 going into the fourth quarter after Shorecrest guard Jose Bermudez buried his second 3-pointer of the game. Meadowdale took a 42-38 lead on free throws by Werner and Matt Gorman, but Shorecrest’s Tommy Kanuch responded with a 3-pointer to cut the lead to one.
After a Meadowdale miss, Shorecrest committed a turnover, one of its 14 for the game. Meadowdale capitalized with Matteson maneuvering inside for a basket with five minutes left. Shorecrest turned the ball over again, and again Meadowdale answered, with a 3-pointer by Werner from 20 feet out with 4:20 to go.
“Those couple plays set us back a little bit,” Shorecrest coach Brian Fischer said. “We weren’t able to really rebound against those two plays at that point.”
Up 47-41, Meadowdale kept control the rest of the game, as Shorecrest continued to hurt itself, committing a couple more turnovers.
“They did a really good job of coming out and shooting against us,” Matteson said. “We played good defense but they just hit shots. Paul coming in and stepping up and hitting that three, man, we needed it and I’m really glad that he did that. We played together as a team tonight and moved the ball around.”
Werner finished with a game-high 15 points and Matteson scored 14. Matteson, who did not score in a loss to Mount Vernon Feb. 21, found the hoop consistently against the Scots.
“We wanted to go inside,” Meadowdale coach Chad McGuire said. “We thought we had an advantage inside.”
“He was assertive offensively, especially down on the low block,” McGuire said of Matteson. “He got into foul trouble in the Mount Vernon game he didn’t play as much. But he did a nice job in there.”
The Mavericks also held Shorecrest’s leading scorer Mark Golike, who averages 14.2 points per game, to nine points.
“I thought Matt Gorman did a great job defensively on Golike. I thought that was the key,” McGuire said.
Fischer noted the difficulty the Scots’ posts had as well.
“They’re a tough team to score on inside,” he said. “They made it tough on Mark and Ryan (Dodge). So when that happens you need your guards to step up. We kind of challenged our guards tonight and they did a good job for us.”
Shorecrest’s guards Travis Hake (seven points), Peter Meyers (five points) and Bermudez (six points) combined for 18 points and made clutch baskets to keep Shorecrest close.
Meadowdale’s season continued with a loser-out game against Lynnwood Feb. 27 after the Enterprise deadline.
“You know every game is going to be a grind and you just grind it out,” McGuire said. “At this time of year the team that makes the most plays wins and tonight we were the team to do that.”
Shorecrest ended its season 9-16 while Meadowdale improved to 20-4.
Mount Vernon 49, Meadowdale 45
Mount Vernon came out in a 1-3-1 zone defense that Meadowdale never did solve, as the Bulldogs, behind guard Mike Caswell’s 24 points, handed the Mavericks a 49-45 loss in the semifinals of the 3A District 1 playoffs Feb. 21 at Arlington High School.
The Mavericks never led in the game, although they cut a 10-point fourth quarter deficit down to one 43-42 with 2:16 to go on a 3-pointer by Paul Werner with 2:16 to play.
With the Meadowdale fans yelling “choke,” Caswell didn’t, making seven of nine free throws in the fourth quarter. The front end of a one-and-one Caswell did miss with 15 seconds to go went unpunished when the ball was tipped out to Caswell, who was fouled again. He hit both free throws to put the game away.
Meadowdale scored 13 points less than its season average thanks to the Mount Vernon zone.
Matt Gorman led Meadowdale with 14 points and Werner added 10.
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