MILL CREEK — It’s a new season and a lot of new faces for the Stanwood boys basketball team.
But the result has been the same.
The Spartans clinched a berth in the 3A District 1 championship game for the third consecutive season with a 65-55 win over Arlington in a semifinal game Wednesday night at Jackson High School.
The win assures the Spartans a berth in the state regionals, win or lose.
“You don’t take things like that for granted,” said Stanwood head coach Zach Ward. “Our goal going into the year, one of the goals, was to get to regionals and there were three berths coming out of there and we wanted one. … That’s what we’re celebrating tonight.”
This time around, Stanwood, which lost to Shorecrest last season after defeating Mountlake Terrace in the 2013 championship, will face Glacier Peak at 8 p.m. Saturday at Jackson High School. To get there, the Spartans had to take down their rival for the third time this season. Karsten Chaplik scored 25 points and the Stanwood defense held Arlington to 32-percent shooting (23-of-70) including 18 percent from behind the 3-point arc (4-of-22).
“We shot the ball poorly,” Eagles head coach Nick Brown said. “If we hit some more shots, I don’t know if we win the game, but we definitely change our momentum. I don’t feel like we really got that flow going.
“Our shots looked good,” Brown added. “I liked our shot selection, I like who’s shooting it. … I wasn’t feeling like we were shooting shots that we didn’t normally shoot.”
Stanwood (18-4 overall), on the other hand, shot 45 percent (21-of-46) from the field to build an early lead. Arlington closed the gap to four with 3:48 remaining in the contest but that’s as close as the Eagles would get. Chaplik made a 3-pointer and after some free throws the Spartans began to pull away.
“It’s exciting to get back here to the championship game,” Chaplik said. “We’ve been here two straight years. We got to cut down the nets my sophomore year and unfortunately didn’t get that opportunity last year. We’re looking to get back there on Saturday and cut down the nets.”
Ward said Chaplik was a big reason the Spartans once again find themselves in the district title game.
“He’s grown up a lot,” Ward said. “He’s got the most experience on this team. This is his third-straight championship game. I think you’re seeing some experience out there. He understands, from being in those games, what it takes. … That’s a senior that knows the importance of this game.”
Nathan Aune led Arlington (14-8) with 23 points. The 6-foot-3 wing posed a matchup problem for the Spartans, according to Ward.
“Nathan Aune’s a tough guard,” Ward said. “He’s such an athlete that if you do go out and contest he can go by probably anybody on our team. He’s going to score. You just need to contain the other guys.”
The Eagles will host Ferndale in a loser-out game at 7 p.m. Friday. Brown is confident his team can rebound against the Golden Eagles.
“Our guys are warriors,” Brown said. “Our backs are against the wall and we’ll see how we respond. I like our chances.”
Ward was happy to get the win over Arlington, Stanwood’s rivals, for a third time this season. The two teams have played three times in the last five weeks.
“It’s very hard,” Ward said. “And Nick’s a great friend of mine. I knew he knew what we were going to do, I was just hoping I knew what he was going to do.”
The Stanwood coach will face another good friend on Saturday. Ward coached with Brian Hunter, the Glacier Peak head coach, for about 10 years at Stanwood before Hunter left for the Grizzlies. The two are still close friends and eager to square off on Saturday for a district championship.
“I think what’s cool is whatever team wins we’re both going to be happy for the other one,” Ward said. “But during the game, we’re both really going to want to win.”
At Jackson H.S.
Arlington 13 11 15 16 —55
Stanwood 23 11 11 20 —65
Arlington—Tylor Morton 0, Donovan Sellgren 7, Nathan Aune 23, Tim Zachman 0, Cole Kingsberry 0, Drew Bryson 10, Connor Bovard 9, Brennon Wiersma 0, Jeremy Bishop 6. Stanwood—AJ Martinka 6, Quinton Borseth 11, Bryson Kelley 8, Austin Wilhonen 0, Chase Strieby 4, Cameron Plautz 2, Carlton McDonald 6, Isaac Olson 0, Karsten Chaplik 25, Skout Roberson 4. 3-point goals—Aune 2, Bovard 1, Bryson 2, Borseth 1, McDonald 2, Chaplik 4. Records—Arlington 14-8 overall. Stanwood 18-4.
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