Mountlake Terrace Coach Nalin Sood and Meadowdale Coach Andy Streit prior to Friday’s game.

No one would mistake the gymnasium at Mountlake Terrace High School as the fictional island in the book Lord of the Flies. And the boys basketball teams of Meadowdale and Mountlake Terrace didn’t battle to the death, but they did fight to a conclusion that saw the Hawks win their fourth straight of the season with a 57-44 victory over the Mavericks Friday night in Mountlake Terrace.

The game served as the Wesco League opener for both teams; while the Hawks are now 4-0, the Mavericks dropped to 4-1 overall for the season.

After leading by just one point at halftime, 25-24, Terrace opened the second half on a 8-0 run, helped by blocks of three Maverick shots in the first 2:40 – one each by Greg Bowman, Loren Lacasse and Yoel Tekle. Meadowdale broke the Hawks’ momentum with a big slam dunk by senior Jacob Perkins, but couldn’t sustain much of an offensive attack in the quarter. The Hawks ultimately outscored the Mavericks 20-8 in the third, effectively putting the game away.

Bowman drained two three-points in that decisive third chapter as the Hawk senior led the team in scoring with 18 points; Bowman added 15 and Yoel Tekle scored 11.

Senior guard Barrett Carlow led the Mavericks in scoring with 14; junior Charlie White contributed 11.

Neither team saw their shots falling consistently as defensive pressure ruled the court. “We didn’t shoot the ball very well,” admitted Hawk Coach Nalin Sood. “I don’t think I’d have the right answer or be saying the right thing if I didn’t say part of it was what they do. They did a good job defensively.”

Meadowdale Coach Andy Streit read from the same script describing the defensive effort of the Hawks. “They’re a great defensive team, we know that,” he stated. “They had a great game plan. Part of it’s our shots not falling, the big part of it’s them, and part of it’s our shot selection. We also could have made some more free throws tonight and that would have been a different ball game as well.”

After trailing by 13 points after three quarters, the Mavericks pulled to within seven with 4:29 to go, but couldn’t get any closer.
Though disappointed with the outcome on the scoreboard, Streit emphasized the subplot of seeing his team grow from the adversity they faced on Friday night. He referenced the 1954 William Golding novel when he talked to his squad following the lost. “I’m an English teacher, so I used a literature quote: ‘They walked along, two continents of experience and feeling unable to communicate.’”

“We need to have these types of games because we’re going in and taking shots, because we want to win so bad off a feeling, but we need to gather some experience to know how to beat a really good team,” he explained. “So I do believe in moral victories, in that sense, because where we are right now isn’t our ultimate destination. This is a part of the process and we’re taking it that way.”

Sood also spoke about how this was just one game in a collection that comprises an entire season. “Win or lost, I just think we should play better; that’s what’s in my mind more than anything right now. Because it’s such a long run; this is such a process. We just need to get better. Whether we won this game or lost this game, if we don’t get better what’s the point, and they’re probably feeling the same way right now.”

Meadowdale at Mountlake Terrace, Boys Basketball, Dec. 13
Meadowdale         14 10 8 12 — 44
Mountlake Terrace 13 12 20 12 — 57
Meadowdale scoring: Barrett Carlow 14; Charlie White 11; Collin Costello 7; Jacob Perkins 6; Aaron Gurley 2; Aidan O’Neill 2; Kenley Ackerman 1; Caleb Tingstad 1; Malik Braxton; Landon Hopkins
Mountlake Terrace scoring: Greg Bowman 18; Loren Lacasse 15; Yoel Tekle 11; Matthew Moisant 6; Prescott Day 3; Isaiah Green 2; Gabe Altenberger 2
Records: Meadowdale 4-1: Mountlake Terrace 4-0
Meadowdale next game: versus Shorewood, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 7:15 p.m. at Shorewood High School
Mountlake Terrace next game: versus Franklin, Saturday, Dec. 14, 7 p.m. at Highline Community College (broadcast live on Sound Live Sports Network)

– Story and photo by Doug Petrowski/MLTnews