Prep boys basketball: Hawks defeat Cedarcrest in second half comeback

The Mountlake Terrace Hawks used a big third quarter and accurate free throw shooting in the game’s final minute to get past the Cedarcrest Red Wolves 59-52 in a non-league match-up Wednesday at Mountlake Terrace High School.

With the victory, the Hawks evened their early-season overall record at 2-2; the Red Wolves dropped to 1-3 overall.

It was Cedarcrest that appeared to be on their way to improving their season’s win-loss mark as the Red Wolves took a 34-24 lead with 6:30 left to go in the third quarter. But Terrace went on a 21-3 run over the next 6:12 to grab an eight-point lead in the quarter’s last minute.

Cedarcrest was able to fight back, outscoring the Hawks 9-1 over a span of 1:30 to tie the game at 46-46 early in the fourth quarter, then again at 50-50 on a Cameron Hammontree jumper with 3:30 to go in the game.

But the Hawks would ultimately prevail in the contest by outscoring the Red Wolves 9-2 the rest of the way. Terrace’s Brock Davis rebound and put back with 3:10 to go gave the Hawks a lead they would never relinquish. Joey Gardner added a jumper with 2:19 to go; then the squad went 5-for-6 from the free throw line in the final minute to secure the win.

Khyree Armstead led the Hawks in scoring with 15 points. Brendan Hayes contributed 14 points and Brock Davis added 10 points in the victory.

Cedarcrest was led by the 15 points of Hammontree; teammate Jake Kirschenmann scored 14 points.

Down 28-22 at halftime, Armstead confessed that the discussion in the Hawk’s locker room focused on the team’s lackluster play in the first half. “We were mad about the first half — not really mad, but we just needed to do better. So we came out (after halftime) strong,” he said.

“We just needed to execute and work harder,” Armstead added.

Terrace Coach Nalin Sood surmised that early foul trouble among some of his starters restricted the team from playing their best in the first half.

“Fouling negates hustle, but it also negates opportunities,” Sood explained. “And we’re having some key guys that are having to come sit on the bench because of fouls. We want to be aggressive; we want to play hard-nosed defense, but we’ve got to find a balance between that and playing without fouling.”

A more-disciplined effort after the halftime break gave Terrace the chance to shine and comeback from a ten-point deficit, Sood said.

“I think at one time we had one foul with two or three minutes to go in the third quarter, and that allowed us to play at a faster pace, pick up the pace defensively a little bit, and then we had the right guys in to execute,” he added.

Four three-pointers — sunk by Armstead, Zeke Tomas and two by Brandon Hayes — also fueled the Terrace third-quarter run.

The Hawks will try to carry the momentum of Wednesday’s win into their next game on Saturday, Dec. 10, when they clash with the Wilson Rams at Highline Community College in Des Moines. Tip-off is scheduled for 5 p.m.

In other Terrace action on Wednesday, the Hawks’ girls basketball team fell to the Cascade Bruins 43-32 at Cascade High School in Everett.

Prep Boys Basketball: Cedarcrest at Mountlake Terrace, Dec. 6

Cedarcrest     13        15        14        10        —          52
Terrace           10        12        23        14        —          59

Mountlake Terrace individual scoring: Khyree Armstead 15, Brendan Hayes 14, Brock Davis 10, Zeke Tomas 8, Mason Peterson 6, Joey Gardner 6, Keegan Grayson-Zehrung, Connor Williams

Cedarcrest individual scoring: Cameron Hammontree 15, Jake Kirschenmann 10, Austin Towns 8, Riley Mallot 5, Kyle Lupo 4, Brayden Stauffer 4, Nate McBride 2, Emmett Turner 2, Aaron Davenport 2, Chris Busch, Pascal Nagata

Records: Mountlake Terrace 0-0 in 2A/3A Wesco League, 2-2 overall; Cedarcrest 0-1 in Cascade Conference, 1-3 overall

Mountlake Terrace next game: versus Wilson (Tacoma), Saturday, Dec. 10, 5:00 p.m. at Highline Community College in Des Moines

Prep Girls Basketball: Mountlake Terrace at Cascade

Cascade 43 — Mountlake Terrace 31

Records: Mountlake Terrace 0-0 in 2A/3A Wesco League, 1-4 overall; Cascade 0-0 in 4A Wesco League, 3-1 overall

Mountlake Terrace next game: versus Shorecrest, Wednesday, Dec. 14, 7:15 p.m. at Mountlake Terrace High School

–Story and photos by Doug Petrowski

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