Another win means another step forward on the road to the Tacoma Dome.
The Mountlake Terrace men’s basketball team (4-0, 3-0 WesCo 3A) overwhelmed Shorecrest (1-2, 1-1 WesCo 3A) 60-36 in front of a pink-clad crowd on Friday night in the Terraceum.
Sophomore Greg Bowman had 12 points and 10 rebounds and senior Coby Russell added 12 points and 7 rebounds to lead the Hawks to another double-digit win.
“It feels awesome, the crowd is great, it feels great to be on the court, it’s a lot of fun,” Bowman said of his experience so far this season.
The Hawks used its size advantage to open the game with an early 9-1 lead and never looked back. Terrace led throughout the game.
Senior forward Emmanuel Chibuogwu, Jr. led Shorecrest with 11 points but struggled to find contributions from his teammates. Chibuogwu entered the game averaging 19.0 points per game. Terrace junior Marquis Armstead played solid defense on Chibuogwu all night, despite fouling out in the fourth quarter.
The Scots were unable to find solid guard play to help Chibuogwu and could not stop Terrace’s interior offense.
Terrace senior Ryan Shannon struggled to find his shot but finished the game with five points and seven rebounds, and another play to add to the highlight reel.
With the clock winding down in the third quarter, junior guard Jesse Zerom drove to the hoop and dished the ball off to Shannon, who finished the play with an emphatic dunk. Zerom had seven points and eight assists.
“Not concerned about getting mine, but getting theirs. Just getting everyone involved, basically,” Zerom said of his role as a point guard.
With contributions from all members on the team and another convincing victory, Terrace looks to be a front runner in WesCo 3A. Seven players chipped in at least five points.
“You don’t have to feel pressured to do anything. Everybody can do anything they want,” Bowman said.
Zerom added, “Down the road, I’m looking at the district tournament. Whoever is there, that’s who we’re looking at.”
Until teams can figure out how to get past Terrace’s stifling defense and figure out which Hawk to stop, the road to the T-Dome might become even clearer.
Next up:
Tuesday, Dec. 13: Mountlake Terrace vs. Shorewood at the Terraceum, 7:15 p.m.
Key stats:
Jesse Zerom: 7 points, 8 assists, 2 steals, 3/4 field goals
Blake Fernandez: 9 points, 2 assists, 4/10 field goals
Ryan Shannon: 5 points, 7 rebounds
Greg Bowman: 12 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, 6/13 field goals
Coby Russell: 12 points, 7 rebounds, 2 blocks, 6/7 field goals
