WesCo roundup: No. 3 Snohomish falls to Mt. Vernon
MOUNT VERNON — Undersized and seemingly outmanned, Mount Vernon pulled off a WesCo shocker last night, handing third-ranked Snohomish its first loss of the season.
Oddly, rebounding played a big role in Mount Vernon's 64-54 upset win. Snohomish has three players over 6 feet 4, while Mount Vernon has none. Despite the size difference, the Bulldogs outrebounded the Panthers 31-24.
"Our kids did an excellent job executing our game plan," said Mount Vernon Coach Torey Swanson. "We did a great job rebounding. They're a lot taller than us, and we still out rebounded them. It's a big win for us, a great team effort."
Kyle Kendrick, a 6-3 senior guard, led the Bulldogs with 20 points, and was one of four Mount Vernon players in double figures. Chris Williams added 17 points for the Bulldogs.
Mount Vernon (7-1, 7-5 overall) moved into a tie with Snohomish (7-1, 9-1) for first place in the North Division.
Trailing by one after one quarter, the Bulldogs took control of the game in the second, outscoring the Panthers 20-9 on the way to a 10-point halftime lead.
In addition to the rebounding advantage, Mount Vernon also capitalized on a substantial free-throw advantage, making 17 of 23 attempts. The Panthers had only 13 attempts, converting on 10.
The highly-touted Brockman brothers combined for 25 points. Paul led Snohomish with 15 and Jon pitched in 10.
Mariner 47, Mountlake Terrace 45
EVERETT — Delvaughn Livingston-Tinned only watched from the sideline for all but maybe a minute.
During Livingston-Tinned's other 31 minutes on the floor last night, the Mariner junior shooting guard was busy, scoring a game-high 17 points in the Marauders' win over Mountlake Terrace..
Along with his crucial scoring punch, the 5-foot-11 Livingston-Tinned used every ounce of strength to elevate and deflect 6-6 Ryan Strieby's potential game-tying, three-point attempt on the left wing with three seconds left.. The block fell into Mariner sophomore Tommy Craddock's hands, who hit the game-clinching free throws after being fouled for a 47-42 lead.
"All I could think about was stopping them so we can maintain our victory," Livingston-Tinned said.
The WesCo 4A South Division leader coming into the night, Mariner (8-1, 10-1) held its top spot and extended its winning streak to seven games after losing to at Kamiak 56-49 on Dec. 20. Terrace (6-4, 8-3) dropped its second contest in a row, but will remain in at least second place in the South Division for playoff purposes because Meadowdale drops down to 3A at the end of the season.
Early in the contest, the Hawks found their offensive rhythm hitting 9-for-12 field goals in the first quarter for a 20-12 lead, including a stretch when they scored on six straight possessions. Terrace seniors Sean Gearin and Ryan Strieby each scored six in the period.
But a two-handed tip dunk by Craddock with 4:59 left in the second period subtly shifted the momentum and excited the home crowd. And after sitting for a brief moment, Livingston-Tinned sunk a three-pointer from first the left, and then the right-hand corner to cut the deficit to 28-23. Terrace senior forward Justin Christianson hit a pair of free throws before halftime but the damage had been done.
"We tried to flip the switch," said Gearin who had a team-high 14 points and a pair of three-pointers. "But in the second half we were playing not to lose."
Other games
At Lake Stevens 49, Marysville-Pilchuck 42 — Matt Stevens scores 7 of his team-high 16 points in the fourth quarter as the Vikings (4-4, 5-7) hung on for the North Division victory. Nicholas Harris of Marysville-Pilchuck (3-5, 4-8) led all scorers with 25 points.
At Stanwood 95, Monroe 57 — Ryan Appleby scored a career-high 45 points, including nine three-pointers, and dished out nine assists as the Spartans destroyed the Bearcats in North Division play. Appleby's scoring outburst was a single-game record for Stanwood, which rebounded from a disappointing loss to Arlington last Saturday night. Eric Hammerquist led the Bearcats (2-6, 3-8) with 22 points.
At Arlington 66, Cascade 42 — The Eagles poured in eight three-pointers to reach the .500 mark (4-4 in league, 6-6 overall). Tim Libs, who led all scorers with 18 points, led the way, going 4-for-6 from beyond the three-point arc. Kyle Jefferson chipped in 16 on 3-for-7 shooting from three-point land. Mike Matson and Anthony Rose scored 11 points each for the winless Bruins (0-8, 0-12).
At Meadowdale 75, Lynnwood 62 — Drew Matzen scored a game-high 26 points, but it wasn't enough for the Royals as the Mavericks won the South Division matchup. Junior guard Taylor Marsh poured in 22 points and junior forward Colin Matteson added 15 to pace Meadowdale (7-3, 9-3). Lynnwood fell to 5-5 in league, 5-7 overall.
At Jackson 59, Shorecrest 50 — The Timberwolves broke away from a two-point lead after three quarters behind the shooting of Chris Keller to secure their place among the upper echelon of the South Division. Keller scored a game-high 20 points, 11 of them coming in the fourth quarter. Leading 38-36 at the end of three, Jackson outscored the Scots 21-14 to move to 6-3 in league, 8-3 overall. Shorecrest (2-8, 3-10) was led by Graham Morrisey's 18 points.
At Edmonds-Woodway 55, Kamiak 33 — Josh Griffin scored 12 points and Casey Tyler added 11 as the Warriors (3-6, 5-6) won the matchup of South Division schools. Aaron Rosenberger scored a game-high 14 points for the Knights (2-7, 3-8).
At Shorewood 56, Everett 49 — Rob Diederichs scores 21 points, leading the Thunderbirds (5-4, 7-4) to the South Division victory. The Seagulls (3-6, 5-6) were led by Adam Moore with 24 points.
Marc Matsui of the Seattle Times staff contributed to this report.