EVERETT — The Meadowdale train just keeps rolling along.
The Maverick boys basketball team used excellence of execution to win its 12th straight game, defeating Mariner 66-52 in a Western Conference 4A South Division contest Jan. 23.
“We feel we can play with anyone,” said Meadowdale junior guard Jake Linton, who finished with 17 points and six assists. “We have a 12-game winning streak going, so we have a lot of confidence when we play.
“Tonight we played well as a team,” Linton added. “Everybody contributed. It was fun. A lot of guys stepped up, which shows how deep our bench is.”
Meadowdale’s confidence was on full display at the offensive end of the court. The Mavericks (11-0 league, 12-1 overall), ranked fifth in the WashingtonPreps.com Class 3A poll, put on a clinic of offensive execution. Despite facing relentless pressure from Mariner’s man-to-man defense, Meadowdale was able to move the ball around and get easy baskets. The Mavericks had 19 assists on their 25 field goals and led by as many as 24 points in the fourth quarter.
“Meadowdale’s a very good team,” Mariner coach Dexter Griffen said. “They’re well coached, they’re a very cohesive team and they play well together. They’re the real deal.”
Linton led the barrage from outside, sinking five 3-pointers, including four straight in the second quarter. Linton’s marksmanship helped open up space inside for Colin Matteson, who scored 14 of his 18 points in the second half. Almost all of Matteson’s second-half points came on layups as a result of Meadowdale’s crisp passing.
And the Mavericks accomplished it all without starting point guard Larod Lover, who did not play because of a coach’s decision.
“So far this season we haven’t executed as well as we wanted to, but we’re starting to get there,” Meadowdale coach Chad McGuire said. “We got such good guard play (Friday). Mariner puts a lot of pressure on you and our guards did a nice job of handling the pressure and creating easy hoops.”
Taylor Marsh added 10 points and five assists and Daniel Stabbert scored 10 points off the bench for Meadowdale, which jumped out to a 10-2 lead and never led by less than six the rest of the way.
Mariner (6-4, 7-5) was led by Wesley Burns, who came off the bench to score 14 points, 12 of them coming on four 3-pointers.
“We’re an inexperienced team and we made a lot of mistakes, especially on defense,” Griffen said. “And we did not shoot the ball well at all. We didn’t quit, we just needed a few players to step up and we didn’t have that tonight.”
Tommy Craddock added nine points and 10 rebounds and Bobby Hamilton had nine points and nine boards for the Marauders.
Nick Patterson writes for The Herald in Everett.
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