White lifts Mavs past Spartans in thriller
Published 6:07 pm Tuesday, January 3, 2012
The Meadowdale boys basketball team ended the year on an upbeat note, defeating Stanwood 49-48 in a nonleague game Dec. 29 at Meadowdale High School.
“We had some tough losses against some tough teams coming into our game with Stanwood,” Meadowdale coach Andy Streit said. “We haven’t shot the ball well. So we have to play better defense and commit a minimal amount of mistakes.”
Trailing by two points, Meadowdale freshman forward Charlie White converted a three-point play in the final seconds to give the Mavericks the victory. He grabbed an offensive rebound, scored on the put-back and drew a key foul. White nailed the game-winning free throw with 3.7 seconds remaining and finished with 16 points and seven rebounds. Senior point guard Torin Dooley chipped in 13 points.
“Stanwood is a very good team and we were looking forward to the challenge with the nonleague game,” Streit said. “It was a tough game and I am very proud of our guys. We played good defense and we kept our poise while sticking with our system. Charlie (White) came up with some big plays in the end, but it was a real team effort. It was a fun victory.”
During their two-game skid, the Mavericks suffered losses to league opponents Shorecrest (5-1, 6-3) 56-47 on Dec. 22 and Oak Harbor (3-3, 3-6) 52-46 on Dec. 20.
The Mavericks were outscored 49-32 by Shorecrest in the final 24 minutes after taking an eight-point lead to end the first quarter. Dooley led Meadowdale with 12 points and White added 11.
“We were executing well in the first quarter,” Streit said. “But they switched defenses and I think that threw us off our rhythm. More importantly, we just couldn’t get the ball in the hole.”
In their loss to Oak Harbor, the Mavs shot 4-for-17 from 3-point range and were held to 11 points in the fourth quarter. Dooley drained all four 3-pointers, grabbed six rebounds and led the Mavs with 21 points. Michael Washington Jr. scored 19 points and Brian Feldhaus followed with 12. Matt Burgoyne and Spencer Linton each chipped in 11 points.
“Overall, we’re still confident that we can win games down the stretch,” Streit said. “We will be a scary team this second half of the season.”
The Mavericks, who improved to 5-6 overall, host Everett at 7:15 p.m., Jan. 13.
