Friday night in the Mount Vernon High School Gym, there were three district tournament games. All three were filled with high intensity and effort. No one held anything back, and it took every ounce of sweat to come out a winner.
In the first game of the evening, Cedarcrest took a 2A semifinal win over Anacortes, 74-65. Next, it was Lynden, in come-from-behind fashion, getting past Lakewood, 62-53. And in the finale, Mount Vernon took a hard fought 52-46 win over Everett, in the 3A district tournament.
Cedarcrest 74, Anacortes 65
The #2 seed Red Wolves, who finished in a second-place tie in the 3A Wesco, got off to a quick 9-2 start over the #3 Seahawks in the first three minutes. But the shooting of sophomore guard, Brennan Morgenthaler, kept the Seahawks close, and eventually taking a 17-16 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Morgenthaler hit two threes and had eight points in the first eight minutes, then added another from the arc early in the second period and scored 11 of the Seahawks first 20 points.
But the Red Wolves controlled most of the second quarter, leading by as much as five points before the Seahawks closed the deficit to a single point at the half.
The Seahawks had trouble containing the Red Wolves lightning quick point guard, senior Adam Rawlings. He hit from the outside and drove and dished his way to 13 first-half points.
The Red Wolves, who never seem to throw the ball in the direction they are looking, got rolling in the third quarter behind the 14 points of 6-6 junior Murphy Vliem. Cedarcrest outscored Anacortes 23-10 and led 57-43 after three quarters.
Even though the Seahawks were down by 20 points early in the fourth quarter, they weren’t done. Junior guard Davis Fogle led a comeback by the Seahawks that narrowed the gap to nine points with 3;45 to play, but they could get no closer.
Fogle scored 27 points on an off night. Morgenthaler did not score in the second half and finished with 11. Senior Cooper Barton scored nine points, all in the second half, and junior Jake Andrew added eight.
Vliem and Rawlings each scored 23 points for the Red Wolves, with senior wing Alex Amaral adding ten.
With the loss, their second of the season to the Red Wolves, the Seahawks (17-5) will face a loser out contest against Bellingham (12-10) on Monday, February 12, at 715pm, at MVHS.
The Red Wolves (18-4) advance to the district championship game against Lynden. That will be at MVHS on Wednesday, February 14, at 715pm.
Lynden 62, Lakewood 53
After a slow start by both teams, the Lions held a 15-10 lead after eight minutes of play.
The Cougars combo-defense worked to hold down the high scoring Lion, senior Anthony Canales, but 6-6 junior forward Jack Stapleton took the open elbow-jumpers to pick up the slack.
The Cougars offense also let loose, as they hit three 3-pointers in the first 90 seconds of the second quarter, as part of a 13-0 run and a 23-15 lead.
Trailing by ten points with 1:30 left in the half, senior guard Brady Elsner scored for the Lions in front of a 3-point play by Canales to cut the Cougars lead in half.
Then came the Zach Stoddard show.
In that final 90 seconds, Stoddard hit a three from the left wing, then banked one in from the same spot. Then for an encore, scored on a drive for two at the buzzer, giving the Cougars a healthy 39-26 lead at the half.
The Cougars defense seemed to keep the Lions just a little out of rhythm, not getting their normal shots, and having to force the offense. Meanwhile, six different Cougars combined to hit nine 3-point shots in the first half.
But the tide turned quickly.
Junior forward Brant Heppner scored from close range, followed by three scores by Stapleton. Then senior guard Charlie Ayres hit a three from the corner, and by the time Stapleton hit a three, the Lions were up 40-39.
The 14-0 run by the Lions was broken by a 3-pointer by the Cougars junior guard Nash Espe at the 2:15 mark of the third quarter. The Lions led 46-45 with eight minutes to play.
It took three minutes for anyone to score in the fourth quarter. That was a bucket by Heppner to give the Lions a three-point lead.
With the score tied at 52-52, the Lions took the lead for good on a fast break that saw Canales fire a pin-point pass from mid court on the right, to a streaking (no, not that), Stapleton for a lay in on the left side of basket.
Senior guard Ben Rucker, who scored four of the Cougars five second half field goals, hit a free throw with 1:08 left to pull the Cougars to within one. But a clutch 3-pointer by Ayres gave the Lions a four-point lead.
The Lions got a steal on the next possession, then ran the clock and sank free throws for a nine-point win.
The Lions (19-4) will now play the Red Wolves in the district championship, and a state tournament berth, on Wednesday.
The Cougars (13-9) will play Sehome (11-11), Monday, at 530pm, at MVHS in a loser out game.
Mount Vernon 52, Everett 46
The #2 Bulldogs earned a spot in the 3A district semifinals with a hard fought 52-46 victory over the #7 Seagulls.
Junior forward Xavier Neyens had the hot hand for the Bulldogs, hitting an early 3-pointer then battling for inside scores, on his was to 11 first quarter points, as the Bulldogs took a 15-12 lead.
Junior guard Baron Dorsey’s 3-pointer gave the Bulldogs their biggest lead of the first half, 26-18, with 1:10 left in the half. But the Seagulls closed to 26-22 at halftime.
If you are Mount Vernon, and you lead by four points, and your leading scorer, senior guard Quinn Swanson has only two points, you would feel pretty confident of your chances in the second half.
The Seagulls hounded Swanson in the first half, playing tight denial defense, and running others at him when he did get the ball, but the second half was a bit different.
Swanson scored nine points in the third quarter, but the Bulldogs managed only two other free throws over the eight minutes.
Meanwhile, the Seagulls battled to a 33-28 lead, before the Bulldogs were able to tie the game at 37-37 at the end of the third quarter.
Swanson scored 12 straight points for the Bulldogs over the third and fourth quarters, then assisted on consecutive possessions for lay ins by junior forward Moises Lucatero and senior post Lucas Johnson, for a 46-39 lead.
The Seagulls fired back on a 3-point shot by Mauricio Garcia-Luna and a lay in by senior guard Mahamad Juma. With 4:22 left, the Bulldogs lead had melted to just two points.
With the Bulldogs leading just 48-46, Neyens, who hadn’t scored since early in the second quarter, nailed a 3-pointer with just 1:20 remaining, pushing the Bulldogs lead to five.
A free throw by Swanson with 29 seconds left capped the scoring, to the delight of the capacity crowd in the Bulldogs gym.
Swanson scored 17 points in the second half to finish with 19. Neyens finished with 16.
Senior guard Ty Bloomfield led the Seagulls with 14 points, with 12 of those in the first half.
Senior guard Isaiah White scored ten points for the Seagulls.
Everett (13-10) will play Marysville-Getchell (16-6) at MGHS, Tuesday, February 13, at 7pm.
The Bulldogs (19-2) will play Arlington (16-6) at Marysville-Pilchuck High School, Tuesday,
February 13, at 5pm.
~ Ted House
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