EDMONDS — An Edmonds-Woodway offense that sputtered early on in its first two league games finally found its groove in last week’s clash with Jackson.
The Warriors outscored the Timberwolves 15-7 in the first quarter and built up a 29-15 halftime lead. Edmonds-Woodway then had to withstand a furious third-quarter rally by Jackson but hung on for a 49-43 victory in a Western Conference 4A South Division boys basketball game Dec. 20 at Edmonds-Woodway High School.
Edmonds-Woodway (1-2 in the league, 2-2 overall) opened league play with a pair of losses to Shorecrest and Lynnwood. The Warriors’ offense scored only two points in the first quarter against the Scots and seven against the Royals.
Getting off to a strong start against Jackson (1-2, 2-2) was one of Edmonds-Woodway’s top priorities.
“They came out ready to play and they were fired up,” said Edmonds-Woodway coach Rob McMains. “We didn’t play very well in our last two games against Lynnwood and Shorecrest, especially on the offensive end. Defensively we’ve been just fine but offensively we haven’t been in synch. There’s no rhythm to our offense.”
Part of the reason for the offensive struggles was that two of the Warriors’ starters, Kyle Trew and Casey Tyler, were coming off injuries and they were still catching up with the rest of the team. The two Edmonds-Woodway seniors have been getting more reps in practice and appeared to be more comfortable on the court.
Tyler scored 11 points, while Trew had 10. The Warriors were led by junior Jason Hopkins, who scored 14 points.
“I just think we had better chemistry with the starting lineup,” Trew said.
The Lynnwood game actually was the first contest where Edmonds-Woodway was at full strength.
“During the Lynnwood game, we missed a lot of shots we should have made and we know we can make,” Trew said.
The Royals’ defense also flustered the Warriors, who didn’t respond well to the pressure, Trew said.
Jackson also turned up the pressure in the third quarter by switching to a press for the first time this season.
Coupled with the standout effort of junior Corey Hall, who scored 11 of his game-high 20 points in the third quarter, the Timberwolves cut a 14-point halftime deficit to eight points by the time the fourth quarter started.
“That was a great call on their coach’s part,” McMains said. “That (press) was a momentum shift and from then on it was a battle and we just had to maintain our composure and we did that.”
Jackson drew to within 44-42 on Craig Chambers’ second 3-pointer of the night with 3:10 remaining in the game.
The Timberwolves had a chance to tie the score but the Warriors blocked a shot.
Trew then found Tyler near the basket and the senior center banked a shot to give the Warriors a 46-42 lead with just over a minute remaining.
Senior guard Chris Keller made one of two free throws to cut the deficit to 46-43. Trew then was fouled and sank a pair of free throws. He later made one of two free throws to close out the scoring.
Edmonds-Woodway focused much of its defensive efforts on keeping an eye on Keller, one of the league’s top 3-point shooters.
“The main point that coach wanted to emphasis to us was that he wanted no 3-point shots this game,” Trew said.
Keller did not connect on 3-pointers.
“You’ve got to give Edmonds-Woodway credit for that,” said Jackson coach Steve Johnson. “They came out and they weren’t going to let Keller get 3-point shots. They weren’t going to let (Mike) Apodaca gets 3-point shots and lo and behold, Apodaca has two points and Keller has six … they played good defense.”
Chambers scored all 10 of his points in the second half.
The emergence of juniors Josh Griffin and Hopkins as well as the return of Tyler, who did not play his junior year, has made a significant difference, according to Trew.
“Last year, I don’t think we had as many clutch players as we do this year,” he said. “They’ve picked it up a lot and they’re doing really well this year.
“I think last year that’s a game we might have lost.”
McMains is known as a defensive coach and he spends most of the time talking defense.
But the last couple of days, the Warriors focused a little bit more on offense.
“We just tried to get out and run a little bit more and open it up,” McMains said. “They like to do that. They like to play like that and so they responded.”
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