Meadowdale boys win ninth in a row

MILL CREEK — A red-hot Meadowdale boys basketball team continued to scorch the competition in the Western Conference 4A South Division.

Sophomore guard Jake Linton scored a game-high 20 points, including three 3-pointers in the first quarter, to lead the Mavericks to a 61-49 victory over Jackson Jan. 28 at Jackson High School.

The victory was Meadowdale’s ninth in a row and kept the Mavericks (9-3 in the league, 11-3 overall) in second place in the division, behind Mariner (9-2, 11-2). Meadowdale defeated the Marauders 45-31 in a Jan. 24 clash. The Mavericks’ last loss was more than a month ago to Shorewood.

There is no mystery to Meadowdale’s success, according to Linton.

“We’ve stepped up our defense,” he said. “We’ve started executing better. Everything is clicking.”

The Mavericks seized control of the game early, jumping out to a 21-11 first-quarter lead.

Jackson, however, crept back into the game largely on the back of senior guard Chris Keller, who scored eight of Jackson’s 15 points in the second quarter. The Wolfpack trailed 30-26 at halftime and then cut the deficit to one point twice in the quarter but never was able to take the lead.

A pair of free throws by Jackson’s Corey Hall at the 5:35 mark of the fourth quarter cut the Meadowdale lead to 46-42 but the Mavericks then went on a 8-0 run to secure the victory.

Linton scored nine of Meadowdale’s 20 points in the fourth quarter.

“It’s been nice to get a on a roll,” Meadowdale coach Chad McGuire said. “I like the way we’re playing defense … the reason we’ve been successful is when it comes times in a game to execute, we’ve done that. We haven’t been able to do it for a full game. We’re getting close.

“But when it comes time to win a game, maybe late in the third quarter or early in the fourth quarter (or) at the end of the game, we’ve been able to execute on both offense and defense.”

McGuire told his players that the Timberwolves were going to make their runs and when they did, Meadowdale needed to refocus on its goals, which largely revolved around defending Jackson’s 3-point shooters — Keller and Mike Apodaca.

“A lot of things are going right,” said senior center Tyler Milam. “Our defense dictates our offense. That’s why we’ve got on this run. Our defense is tough.”

On the second of its two opportunities to take the lead in the third quarter, Jackson was unable to inbound the ball due to Meadowdale’s pressure defense and turned the ball over.

Wolfpack coach Steve Johnson is impressed by the Mavericks’ nine-game winning streak.

“Right now they’re playing better than anybody else,” Johnson said. “I think that’s pretty clear … if you play good defense, you always have a chance to win. They play good defense.”

Linton was the only Maverick to score in double figures, which meant that the scoring load was spread out pretty evenly, just the way Meadowdale likes it.

“It’s somebody else every night,” McGuire said. “It seems like somebody else is stepping up and hitting the big shot. You put that together with a little luck and you’re able to go on some runs.”