SHORELINE — As soon as Shorecrest settled into a three-man weave on its first possession, it started to sink in that this wasn’t going to be another run-of-the-mill shootout.
With three key players out of action, the Scots weren’t interested in running the floor with Jackson in Tuesday night’s Western Conference 4A South Division boys basketball contest at Shorecrest High School.
Running the clock was more like it.
But Jackson refused to unravel when Shorecrest unleashed its slow and steady pace and withstood a valiant second-half comeback to escape with a 47-38 victory.
“We wanted to dictate the tempo because we knew they had some guys inside that could really hurt us,” Scots coach Bill Liley said. “Not only that, we had our best scorer and two of our best rebounders out of the game.”
Jackson senior Corey Hall sat out most of the first half after picking up his second foul at the 1:17 mark of the first quarter, but he didn’t miss a shot in the second half. The 6-foot-6 post was a flawless 6-for-6 from the field and 7-for-7 from the free throw line.
Hall wound up converting all nine of his free throw attempts and hit all but one of his eight field goal tries to finish with a game-high 23 points for the Timberwolves.
“We’d done a little scouting and knew they like to run a stall game,” Hall said. “They probably weren’t going to be able to match-up with us, especially inside.”
The Scots (1-9 league, 1-11 overall) attempted just two field goals in the first quarter and their stalling tactics limited Jackson to a meager 6-2 advantage.
Although the tempo hardly increased in the second quarter, a 6-0 spurt helped the Wolfpack extend its lead to 16-10 at halftime.
Hall then scored six straight points as part of a 13-2 Jackson run that gave the Wolfpack a 31-17 edge with 3:32 left in the third quarter and forced the Scots to pick up the pace.
Surprisingly, it paid off.
Shorecrest cut its deficit to 10 by the end of the period and opened the fourth quarter with a 10-2 run. Brandon Bible and Ian Love drilled back-to-back 3-pointers to shrink Jackson’s lead to 37-35 with 5:05 to go, but the Scots never got any closer.
“Their press bothered us and they hit some shots and we didn’t rebound well,” Jackson coach Steve Johnson said. “We gave them a lot of second-chance opportuities.”
According to Liley, Shorecrest’s fourth-quarter comeback was a byproduct of the unhurried offense the Scots utilized early on.
“When you’re shorthanded, you’ve got to do some things that are unconventional,” he said. “If we go up and down with those guys the entire game, with their rebounding there’s no way we’re in that basketball game.”
Kevin Simshauser’s second 3-pointer with 3:30 remaining gave the Wolfpack some breathing room and Hall sealed the win by tacking on seven points — including five free throws — in the final 1:26.
Bible and fellow sophomore Talor Boatsman combined for 21 points to lead the Scots and Love added eight.
Love went off for a career-high 23 points to pace Shorecrest to a much-needed 65-60 win over 3A rival Lynnwood Jan. 16.
“Our captain (Love) decided we weren’t going to lose,” Liley said. “He’s a kid who’s been here through the real rough times.”
The Scots trailed by 14 going into the fourth quarter, but scorched Lynnwood for 27 points in the final eight minutes. The win evened the season series between the teams, who are battling for Wesco’s second and final berth to the district playoffs.
If the two remain tied at the end of the regular season, they would meet for a third time to decide playoff seedings. Liley is confident a tiebreaker game won’t be necessary.
“We’re not only going to find one more win, we’re going to find two more wins before the season’s over. I’m positive we’re going to do it,” he said.
“We’re going to be creative. We’re going to find some ways to get under people’s skin with how we play. We’re going to find a way to win another ballgame.”
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