Prep boys basketball: Second quarter surge lifts Edmonds-Woodway past Mountlake Terrace

Mountlake Terrace's Ryan Lacasse (31) is surrounded by four Edmonds-Woodway players during a Wesco 3A South game  Thursday at Edmonds-Woodway High School. (Photos by David Carlos)
Mountlake Terrace’s Ryan Lacasse (31) is surrounded by four Edmonds-Woodway players during a Wesco 3A South game Thursday at Edmonds-Woodway High School. (Photos by David Carlos)

Once the shots started falling, there was no stopping Edmonds-Woodway.

The Warriors shook off a sluggish first quarter with a 27-12 second quarter effort and went on to defeat Mountlake Terrace 65-49 in a Wesco 3A South boys basketball game Thursday at Edmonds-Woodway High School.

Three players scored in double figures for Edmonds-Woodway (2-0 in the league, 5-1 overall), which pleased coach Robert Brown.

“That’s a good recipe,” Brown said. “We need that.”

The Warriors also needed their seniors to help right the team after a tough first quarter that saw the two teams tied at 6. Were it not for a 3-pointer by sophomore Tre’var Holland at the buzzer, Edmonds-Woodway would have scored only three points.

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Mountlake Terrace’s Shimron Masih (41) goes up for a short against Edmonds-Woodway’s Phinnian Rogan (21) Chuckwuma Okereke (22), while Mountlake Terrace’s Justin Hopkins (43) watches.

Brown noted that Edmonds-Woodway starts only one senior but has a number of them come off the bench.

“They kind of settled it down and really ran the offense,” Brown said. “They really got into our press and started turning Terrace over. That got us on a good run.”

Edmonds-Woodway started the second quarter on an 11-2 run and shot 61 percent from the field (11 of 18), including 4 of 6 from 3-point land.

Mountlake Terrace coach Nalin Sood didn’t like some of the statistics at the end of the game. Two in particular stood out — 20 turnovers and 27 points by Edmonds-Woodway in the second quarter.

“You’re never going to win a basketball game when you give up 27 points in a quarter,” Sood said. “They had guys step up and make plays. It’s very disappointing turning the ball over, 20 turnovers. That’s unacceptable. Our players have to make plays.”

Edmonds-Woodway led 33-18 at halftime and by as many as 23 points in the third quarter. The Warriors started the fourth quarter ahead 53-34. Mountlake Terrace went on a 10-0 run at the start of the final period, cutting the deficit to 53-44 with just over six minutes left in the contest.

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Mountlake Terrace’s Adam Lorraine is guarded by Edmonds-Woodway’s Tre’var Holland (right)

“We started executing against their press,” Sood said. “When teams press, there’s a chance they’re going to give up stuff. We were a little more aggressive and took good, high percentage shots.”

But just as quickly as the Hawks rallied, the Warriors counterpunched. Junior Jordan Rice scored 10 points during a 12-0 run to boost the Edmonds-Woodway lead to 65-44.

“He’s very confident in what he can do,” Brown said of Rice. “When he’s playing hard on the defensive end, it kind of spurs him. I’m proud of the way he played tonight.”

It wasn’t too surprising that Edmonds-Woodway saw its double-digit lead cut to single digits.

“We have these lulls where we kind of fall asleep,” Brown said. “We get a good lead. We fall asleep. As a young team, we’re trying to work through that and learn the consistency that it takes to actually be good … (the players) think they have a comfortable lead, but there’s no real cushion in basketball.

“They need to learn to play really hard all the time. That’s what we’re learning to do.”

During the Warriors’ 12-0 run, the Hawks (1-2, 2-5) were getting shots but they weren’t making them or getting any offensive rebounds.

“We were not getting much second chance points,” Sood said. “You’ve got to get a few offensive rebounds.”

Brown said that Edmonds-Woodway makes it a priority to crash the boards. The Warriors pressed on defense for much of the game and that meant the Hawks had their opportunities on offense.

“We emphasize defensive rebounding, not giving up that second shot,” Brown said.

Edmonds-Woodway’s Rice and senior Benji Parrilla each scored 12 points and Ali Gaye added 11 points. Holland had 9 points.

Mountlake Terrace’s Gabe Altenberger scored 13 points, while Ryan Lacasse had 12 and Derek Aniyimah had 10.

“We just haven’t figured it out yet,” Sood said. “They’re a young team showing their inconsistency.”

By David Pan

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