MARYSVILLE — In a game in which neither team seemed especially motivated to score, it was fitting that it was a huge defensive play that may have saved the Glacier Peak boys basketball season.
With 20 seconds left and his team down 1, Grizzlies senior Jack Bonner knocked a Hazen pass lo
ose and teammate Dylan Vargas recovered, was fouled and made two free throws with 13 seconds left to lift Glacier Peak to a 50-49 win in a loser-out game of the Class 3A state regional tournament Saturday at Marysville-Pilchuck High School.
With the win, the Grizzlies (22-4) advance to the state quarterfinals where they will play North Central at 9 p.m. Thursday in the Tacoma Dome.
“I saw them looking to pass to my guy and I saw that that was my chance to jump the passing lane and get a hand on it,” said Bonner, who also led Glacier with 18 points.
“Jack made a good read and when I saw him get a hand on it I ran as hard as I could after it,” Vargas said. “Coach always talks about just playing as hard as we can and that’s one of those plays where it worked for us.”
Little worked for Glacier Peak for much of the game. A day after losing to Seattle Prep, the Grizzlies, who finished fourth at state in 2010, scored just two points in the first 8 minutes, 41 seconds and trailed 16-2. Every time the Grizzlies seemed poised to make a run, they’d either miss a shot or fail to make a stop and Hazen (21-7) led 25-15 at the half. Glacier Peak was 5-for-24 in the first half, including 1-for-8 on 3-pointers and 4-for-8 from the foul line.
“It was really simple, it was all about competing,” Glacier Peak coach Brian Hunter said. “That’s what this program is based on and in the first half we just didn’t compete. We didn’t talk about X’s and O’s, it was just about playing as hard as we can and settling for whatever result comes from that.”
The Grizzlies clearly came out more inspired in the second half but still, Hazen continually prevented any real run to develop and the Highlanders led by as many as 13 with 3:02 left in the quarter. But Bonner made back-to-back 3-pointers to spark a 23-5 run over the next 8 minutes, 11 seconds that saw the Grizzlies turn a 37-24 deficit into a 47-42 lead. While Bonner made three 3-pointers in the run, it was a three by Vargas from the left wing with 3:33 left that was the biggest shot, giving Glacier Peak a 45-42 lead.
“We had been mostly going inside and I had missed a lot of my shots,” said Vargas of his only 3-pointer made on the day. “My guy dropped off me a little and I put it up.”
Hazen, though, would not go away. A 3-pointer by Michael Dampier tied the game at 47 and a jump shot by DeCorrius Sampson gave the Highlanders a 1-point lead with a minute to go. That set up Bonner’s steal and Vargas’ free throws.
“I knew the game was on the line but I was feeling good,” Vargas said. “Both shots felt real good coming out of my hand. I felt really confident.”
“Dylan steps up in big moments,” Hunter said. “This wasn’t his best shooting game of the year but it’s a credit to him that he made three of the biggest shots of the game for us.”
Hazen inbounded with 13 seconds to go and Frankie Johnson had two layup attempts but missed both, the last at the buzzer.
Behind the play of Bonner and Vargas and the passing of Tanner Southard, Glacier Peak rallied from its horrid first half to shoot 52 percent in the second half while defensively, the Grizzlies held Hazen to 30.8 percent shooting. Glacier Peak was 4-for-7 on 3s and 7-for-10 from the line in the second half. Bonner had nine rebounds and Southard had seven assists for GP. Dampier had 13 points and 12 rebounds for Hazen.
“It just hit us at halftime, especially the seniors, that we didn’t want this to be our last game,” Bonner said. “We didn’t come out ready to play but we responded really well and stepped up when we had to.”
“We felt if we just kept executing, our shots would start to fall,” Hunter said. “This team has been built on effort all season. We saw what happens when we don’t play with effort and we saw what happens when we do, and to our credit we recognized what was happening and corrected it and got the win.”
Glacier Peak 50, Hazen 49
Hazen 14 11 12 12 — 49
Glacier Peak 2 13 17 18 — 50
Hazen: Johnson 4, Magar 10, Gillis 0, Sampson 9, Dampier 13, Pawliuk 0, Kasa 9, Bra. Graybeal 4, Moorhead 0. Glacier Peak: Williams 0, Vargas 9, Southard 9, Impola 0, Harrison 4, Harris 3, Pederson 7, Bonner 18. 3-point goals: Magar 3, Dampier 2, Sampson 1, Bonner 4, Vargas 1. Records: Hazen 21-7. Glacier Peak 22-4.
At Marysville-Pilchuck H.S.
Hazen 0 0 0 0 — 0
Glacier Peak 0 0 0 0 — 0
Hazen—xxx. Glacier Peak—Schaub, Williams, Vargas, Southard, Impola, Davelaar, Harrison, Harris, Pederson, Bonner, Pervier. 3-point goals—xxx. Records—Hazen x-x overall. Glacier Peak x-x.
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