The regular season may be winding down for the Mountlake Terrace Hawks, but not the tempo. Right out of the gate, the Hawks came clawing at the Oak Harbor Wildcats, seizing their 14th win in intimidating fashion Friday night, 81-32.

The game marked the seventh time the Hawks have scored at least 70 points this season.

“The guys did a good job,” Hawks’ head coach Nalin Sood said. “We got a chance to play everybody, but we had the same approach this game that we would have for any other league opponents. The guys dialed in pretty well and stayed on top of things and so they (Oak Harbor) zone a lot, they shoot a lot of 3s. You have to play the right way and I thought for the most part we did that.”

“Nate’s [Sullivan] building that program up and they are going to get better and he’s got young kids,” Sood said of the Oak Harbor coach.

From start to finish, the Hawks had complete control of the game, the tone and the crowd. Their first-quarter performance was nothing short of spectacular and even intimidating, forcing five steals and notching 22 points to stun the Wildcats early. Junior forward Robbie Baringer scored as many points — 11 — in the first quarter as the entire Wildcats team.

In the second quarter, Baringer passed the torch to sophomore guard Jeffrey Anyimah, who scored 10 points. Anyimah, who finished with 12 points on the night, was a formidable presence on both ends in the second quarter, converting two of his game- high four steals into fast-break layups.

“Being aggressive (allowed me to succeed), getting to the hole, doing some moves and finishing pretty much,” Anyimah said. “Staying aggressive and knowing that they can’t guard me.”

But the Hawks’ most consistent force resided down low in post Muhammad Kinteh, whose 16 points — many off put-back opportunities — marked a game high for both teams.

“I think we spent a lot of time working in practice on our defense,” Kinteh said. “It’s something that our team prides a lot.”

With a 30-point lead at halftime, the Hawks still were on a mission. Continuing their fast-tempo offense in the third, they reached 70 by the end of the third.

Bradey Blackmer and Trazz Pepper scored five points each in the third quarter, with Blackmer drawing multiple fouls and Pepper adding his second 3-pointer of the night. Pepper — who finished with 14 points on the night — was one of four Hawks to finish the game in double-digit scoring,

The Hawks hit the road to take on the Archbishop Murphy Wildcats Wednesday, Feb. 5 at 7:15 p.m.

Prep Boys Basketball: Oak Harbor at Mountlake Terrace, Feb. 5

Oak Harbor                               11   7    6    8   — 32

Mountlake Terrace                  22  26  23  10  — 81

Mountlake Terrace individual scoring: Muhammad Kinteh 16, Trazz Pepper 14, Robbie Baringer 13, Jeffrey Anyimah 12, Bradley Blackmer 7, Mason Christianson 7, Jai Nath 6, Vitaly Mkrtychyan 5, Jace Breakfield 1

Oak Harbor individual scoring: Will Rankin 13, Mason Myers 7, Gage McLeod 4,  Shawn Day 3, Brock Boyer 2, Garrett Levell 2, Izayah Jannini 1,

Records: Mountlake Terrace 8-3 in 3A Wesco League, 13-4 overall; Oak Harbor 0-12 in 3A Wesco League, 1-17 overall

Mountlake Terrace next game: at Archbishop Murphy; Wednesday, Feb. 5; 7:15 p.m. at Archbishop Murphy High School

— By David Gillespie