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While the Edmonds-Woodway Warriors were hoping to celebrate the good tidings of a sixth- straight victory to open the season, the Stanwood Spartans were ready to play the role of a grinch and leave the Warriors disappointed.
Fortunately for E-W fans, the Warriors were able to overcome the Spartans’ dastardly plans and come away from Friday’s encounter with a late win.
The Warriors used a 22-11 fourth-quarter scoring advantage to run away from Stanwood 59-46 in a non-league contest played at Edmonds-Woodway High School.
Senior DJ Karl led E-W in scoring with 24 points — nine in the fourth quarter — but admitted that Friday’s victory was anything but routine.
“They kept it close the whole game,” Karl said of the Spartans’ play. “Then we just pulled away in the end. We definitely could have played a lot better. We ended up winning, so that’s all that matters, I guess.”
After trading the lead seven times earlier in the matchup, the two teams found themselves tied in the final minute of the third quarter 35-35. Then Grant Williams hit a jumper just three seconds before the third-quarter buzzer to begin a Warrior 9-0 run that extended into the early stages of the fourth.
E-W continued to score in bunches in the fourth quarter, fueled primarily by an aggressive push to get to the basket as opposed to settling for the long-range jumpers that the team had been shooting earlier in the game.
“We tried to drive into the paint more,” Karl said. “We weren’t shooting that great, so we ended up moving the ball more, passing more. We ended up with a lot more layups as they got tired.”
Early in the contest, it was the Warriors that looked fatigued as the Spartans jumped out to an 11-1 lead halfway through the first quarter. “They came out with energy and we looked really dead out there at the start,” Karl said.
But E-W ended the first quarter on an 11-2 run to get back into the game and set up a back-and-fourth affair until the fateful final eight minutes.
In addition to Karl’s game-leading 24 points, Julian Gray scored 11 points — six in the fourth quarter — for the Warriors. Gray’s fourth quarter efforts included a putback bucket-plus-one at the 6:51 mark, two more free throws made a minute later and a nifty assist to Dre Simonsen 20 seconds after that.
Karl praised Gray’s play in the victory — and throughout the early stages of this season. “He gets a lot of rebounds, he blocks out, he’s a great defensive help,” Karl said of his fellow senior. “He sets a good screen; he gets me open. I get him open. It’s great. It’s great having a teammate like that. He’s always willing to help out the team.”
Six games into the season, Karl has emerged as the team’s leading scorer, averaging about 20 points per game so far this year. The senior isn’t shy about launching shots from anywhere on the court, whether that be long-range or from inside the paint.
“If I see an open shot, I’m going to take it,” Karl said. “I’m going to drive on them. If I see opportunities to score, I’m going to take it.”
Stanwood (0-1 in 2A/3A Wesco League North Conference, 1-5 overall) was led in scoring by the 12 points of Kam Gleaves. Armani Ortiz contributed 11 points while Rece Green added 10 points.
E-W (2-0 in 2A/3A Wesco League South Conference, 6-0 overall) returns to their home court on Saturday with another non-league contest, hosting the Bishop Blanchet Bears in a 3:45 p.m. game.
Prep Boys Basketball: Stanwood at Edmonds-Woodway, Dec. 19
Stanwood 13 8 14 11 – 46
Edmonds-Woodway 12 11 14 22 – 59
Edmonds-Woodway individual scoring: DJ Karl 24, Julian Gray 11, Andreas Simonsen 10, Grant Williams 6, Dre Simonsen 5, Harris Dobson 3, Lincoln Bradford, Hayden Ricker, Padiat Deng, Joaquin Escandon
Stanwood individual scoring: Kam Gleaves 12, Armani Ortiz 11, Rece Green 10, Brenner Perry 8, Avery Patterson-Roe 3, Dylan Wallace 2, Austin Bulanhagui, Jayden Abell, Chris Marx, Kai Halligan, Emery Aasen, Luke Edlund
Records: Edmonds-Woodway 2-0 in 2A/3A Wesco League South Conference, 6-0 overall; Stanwood 0-1 in 2A/3A Wesco League North Conference, 1-5 overall
Edmonds-Woodway next game: versus Bishop Blanchet; Saturday, Dec. 20; 3:45 p.m. at Edmonds-Woodway High School
Stanwood next game: versus Lynden; Saturday, Dec. 20; 6:30 p.m. at Stanwood High School
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