In what may be the final match up for years between perennial Wesco League basketball powers Mountlake Terrace and Glacier Peak, the Hawks came from behind in the second half and defeated the Grizzlies 61-58 Friday at Mountlake Terrace High School.

Terrace didn’t take their first lead in the tilt until the 4:43 mark of the third quarter, built up a seven-point advantage to start the fourth, then held on for the victory, their twelfth of the season (12-5 overall, 6-3 in Wesco League South Conference play).

After trailing 29-25 at the half, the Hawks went 5-for-5 from the field to start the second half while the Grizzlies came out of the halftime locker room ice cold, going just 2-for-11 from the field in the third quarter.

Hawk Head Coach Nalin Sood praised his team’s second half effort.

“I thought this game came down to defense and rebounding, and it’s a credit to these kids that they dug down and did it,” he said.

In addition to Terrace holding Glacier Peak to just five points in the third quarter, the Hawks out-rebounded the Grizzlies 19-5 in the second half, 30-12 for the game.

On the offensive end, Terrace junior Daniel Johnson came off the bench to lead all scorers with 20 points. Johnson did not play in the Hawk’s last game, a 66-61 lost to Edmonds-Woodway on Jan. 22, but got significant playing time Friday against Glacier Peak due in part to Hawk starter Joey Gardner getting injured four minutes into the game.

“Coach tells us to always be ready, you never know what may happen,” Johnson said. “Unfortunately Joey got injured; I was the next man up and I took advantage of it.”

Gardner hit his forehead on the hardwood when he got caught on the bottom of a pile of bodies under the Glacier Peak hoop halfway through the first quarter. After being treated in the training room, Gardner returned to the Hawk bench late in the second quarter but did not see any more action.

Sood was pleased to have Johnson as an option off the bench on Friday.

“He’s a tough matchup for opponents,” Sood said. “He gets to the basket, he knocked down some shots. Daniel worked hard in the off-season and I hope that he can just reap the rewards of his hard work. He just makes us a better basketball team — that’s obvious.”

Shimron Masih went 8-for-12 from the field and scored 19 points for the Hawks. Derek Anyimah tallied 10 points. Glacier Peak was led by Zach Hatch and Seiver Southard, each scoring 17 points; Bobby Martin added 16 points for the Grizzlies before fouling out with 5:29 to go in the game.

With the win, Terrace completes a two-game sweep of the Grizzlies this season, the first time the Hawks have done so since the 2011-2012 season. Both of Terrace’s victories this year have been by just three points.

“I don’t think games become rivalry games until teams play really well — and their success speaks for itself. I think we’ve done okay also,” Sood said. “If you go back over time, most of the games have been grind them out, hard-nosed, just really tough, tough games. I don’t know what (our) record is against Glacier Peak — it’s not phenomenal, and I don’t think it’s phenomenal for them the other way — but you know what you’re going to get every time.”

After this school year, Mountlake Terrace will move to the WIAA’s 2A classification for the next four years — Glacier Peak will be bumping up to 4A. With the changes the team will play in different divisions in the Wesco League and would only face each other on the basketball court if a non-league game gets arranged between the two foes.

While the two rivals may not see each other for the next four years, Sood cautioned that they their paths may yet cross again this season.

“You don’t know what the non-league (schedule) is going to look like, but we’re not done yet,” he said. “They’re going to be in the postseason — we’re hopeful we’re going to be in there too. So this isn’t over yet by any means.”

Terrace has three games remaining in the 2015-2016 regular season starting with a Tuesday, Feb. 2, matchup against Shorecrest. The Grizzlies have two games left this year. Postseason play for both teams – if they qualify – begins with the 3A District 1 Tournament on Feb. 10.

In other MTHS action on Friday, the girls basketball team was held scoreless in the first quarter and couldn’t recover, falling to the Glacier Peak Grizzlies 62-24 at Glacier Peak High School.

Prep Boys Basketball: Glacier Peak at Mountlake Terrace, Jan. 29

Glacier Peak             16        13          5        24        —          58
Mountlake Terrace   11        14        16        20        —          61

Mountlake Terrace scoring: Daniel Johnson 20, Shimron Masih 19, Derek Anyimah 10, Gabe Altenberger 7, Kyree Armstead 5, Joey Gardner, Gabe Powter, Carson Dallas

Glacier Peak scoring: Zach Hatch 17, Seiver Southard 17, Bobby Martin 16, Justin Guffey 4, Kyle Dvorak 2, Brendan Tetrault 2, Scott Wilson, Jack Wygant, Austin Petz

Records: Mountlake Terrace 6-3 in Wesco League South Conference, 12-5 overall; Glacier Peak 4-6 in Wesco League South Conference, 10-8 overall

Mountlake Terrace next game: versus Shorecrest, Tuesday, Feb. 2, 7:15 p.m. at Shorecrest High School
Prep Girls Basketball: Mountlake Terrace at Glacier Peak, Jan. 29

Mountlake Terrace     0          8        11        5          —          24
Glacier Peak             16        20        21        5          —          62

Mountlake Terrace scoring: Nohea Morrison 8, Jorie Lambert 7, Eliza Sandoval 4, Trinity Prout 2, Jazmine Zenk 2, Samara Gebrehiwot 1, Aynika Nuckles, Brianna Houtman

Glacier Peak scoring: Paisley Johnson 15, Lauren Iredale 8, Maya McFadden 8, Sierra Nash 8, Makayla Guerra 7, Charlie Sevenants 7, Natalie Rasmussen 4, Addison Sande 3, Nicole Jensen 2, Abbie Juozapaitis

Records: Mountlake Terrace 0-9 in Wesco League South Conference, 2-15 overall; Glacier Peak 8-2 in Wesco League South Conference, 14-4 overall

Mountlake Terrace next game: versus Shorecrest, Tuesday, Feb. 2, 7:15 p.m. at Mountlake Terrace High School

–By Doug Petrowski