MILL CREEK
For Dexter Griffen, watching his basketball team give up as many points as it did on Dec. 16 was like listening to someone scratch their fingernails on a chalkboard.
“We gave up 75 points, which raises the hair on the back of my neck,” said Griffen, head coach of the Mariner High School boys basketball team.
Even so, it wasn’t a total nightmare for Griffen’s crew. Mariner used an efficient, balanced offense – all five Marauders starters scored at least 11 points – and withstood a late challenge to beat the Jackson Timberwolves 80-75 in a Western Conference South Division game.
Guard Michael Minor and post Nick Malysheff combined to score 27 second-half points to help keep Mariner unbeaten. The Marauders are living up to their preseason billing as the division favorite. In a Wesco South preseason coaches’ poll, Mariner was No. 1, Jackson No. 2.
“It’s a big victory. We’re trying to get this Wesco title so it means a lot to us,” said Minor, who scored many of his team-high 21 points on smooth mid-range jump shots. Malysheff chipped in 18 points for Mariner, which shot 69 percent from the field.
“They made some tough shots and some guys stepped up. But by the same token I think we need to play better defense,” Jackson head coach Steve Johnson said. “They had way too many easy shots so they were able to play a high-scoring game because I don’t think we made it difficult enough for them to score.”
Guards Brett Kingma (29 points) and Ryan Todd (25 points) helped Jackson keep it interesting until the end. Kingma, who made six 3-pointers in the game, scored 17 points in the fourth quarter. He and Todd combined for 11 points in the final 50 seconds.
But Mariner made enough foul shots down the stretch to preserve the victory. Minor, Malysheff and Tevin Dillon led the way at the line, making 13 of 16 in the final quarter.
Despite seeing Jackson score more points than he would have liked, Mariner’s Griffen was happy with his team’s ability to create and knock down open shots.
“We’ve been struggling offensively, trying to get in a rhythm the first few games. Tonight we kind of executed a lot better. Overall I was pleased,” he said.
Mariner is in the midst of a challenging three-game stretch against strong South teams. Thanks to solid third quarters by Minor and Malysheff, Mariner led 52-45 going into the final eight minutes. Minor and Malysheff combined to score a dozen points in the third (six apiece) and Mariner outscored Jackson 18-13.
Jackson tied it twice early in the third quarter but Mariner used a mix of effective interior passing and long jump shots to pull away.
Mike Cane writes for The Herald in Everett.
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