TACOMA – Marysville Pilchuck wanted to show it belonged at the 3A state boys basketball tournament.
The Tomahawks did just that, pushing No. 6 Eastside Catholic to the wire.
Marysville Pilchuck started the game with a 4-0 run and led most of the way before a late push by the Crusaders gave them a 42-35 victory in a 3A state quarterfinal game Thursday night at the Tacoma Dome.
Marysville Pilchuck faces Bellevue in a loser-out game at 2 p.m. Friday. Eastside Catholic, which lost to Rainier Beach in the state title game last year, will get a rematch with the Vikings in a semifinal at 9 p.m.
“We talked about, before the game, that we belong here and we just went out and proved it,” Marysville Pilchuck coach Bary Gould said. “We didn’t win the contest – we didn’t score more points than they did – but we definitely earned their respect. I think the people that were like, ‘Oh, let’s just stay until halftime until Eastside Catholic is blowing out Marysville Pilchuck.’ They stuck around. Because they’re going, ‘Oh this team is for real.’ You never feel good about a loss, but you do feel good about proving that you belong.”
It was all Marysville Pilchuck at the start. The Tomahawks held Eastside Catholic to just 11 points in the first half and led 21-11 at the break.
Eastside Catholic (24-6 overall) took its first lead of the game on a low-post bucket by Etan Collins with 3:03 remaining in the game. The Crusaders extended their lead to four points on a 3-pointer by Max Hudgins with 1:20 to play and held on the rest of the way.
“We talked before the game that basketball is a game of runs and momentum and we certainly weren’t sitting on our 10-point lead going, ‘Oh, we got this,’” Gould said. “They’re not going anywhere. They’re a top-six team in the state for a reason. … We knew they were going to come back. We were just hoping we could sustain our runs and kind of stop theirs, and I feel like that happened until late in the fourth quarter.”
The 42 points were a season-low for the Crusaders.
“We had to change the tempo of the game,” Eastside Catholic head coach Bill Liley. “They were kind of grinding us down. They were hitting shots that we weren’t. … If it wasn’t for those 22 turnovers that we forced, we wouldn’t have won this game. Once we started forcing the tempo, I think that helped us quite a bit. That was probably the only way we were going to win the game tonight.”
Michael Painter scored 15 points and grabbed seven rebounds and Josh Bevan added 10 points for Marysville Pilchuck (19-7). Gould attributed some of the Tomahawks’ offensive struggles to the Tacoma Dome, long known for causing problems for even some of the state’s best shooters.
“It’s a tough spot for people to shoot,” Gould said. “Unless you’re Josh Bevan.”
Nate Heckendorf grabbed five rebounds and blocked three shots, and point guard Bryce Juneau added four points and six rebounds in a team effort for Marysville Pilchuck.
“That’s not any different than we’ve always played this whole entire year and the only way we can be successful – whether we’re playing a top-10 team in the state or someone that’s not ranked,” Gould said. “The only way we can be successful is as a team.”
The Tomahawks helped themselves out in the first half, holding University of Washington recruit Matisse Thybulle scoreless. Thybulle didn’t score until midway through the third period and finished with four points.
Thybulle’s struggles had his head coach worried.
“What’s going through my mind with him struggling that much is that he better get it in gear or we’re going to be playing in the loser’s bracket,” Liley said. “We have a team. His teammates picked him up today. We’ve been through a lot as a team this year. For us to get back to the final four, we wouldn’t be here without him. He’s going to bounce back (Friday) and give us a big game against Rainier Beach.”
Hudgins led Eastside Catholic with 15 points and Montana State University-bound senior Mandrell Worthy added 13.
Gould got exactly what he hoped for from his players: their full effort.
“All I want from my kids is to play as hard as they can play, to leave everything out on the court,” Gould said before the game. “If we do that, and don’t outscore Eastside Catholic, big deal.”
After the game, Gould directed the Tomahawks’ to their next challenge: second-ranked Bellevue (23-4).
“The message is that Bellevue is better than Eastside Catholic,” he said. “We watched film on them and Bellevue beat Eastside Catholic by 22 the last time they played each other. They shoot it better, their guards are more aggressive, they’re a better basketball team. They’ve proven it. It’s not like something I’m making it up.
“But we talked a lot about how we rebound. How do we come back after a tough loss after earning respect of people here? … We’re going to bring that same amount of energy.”
At the Tacoma Dome
Marysville Pilchuck 15 6 9 5 —35
Eastside Catholic 7 4 16 15 — 42
Marysville Pilchuck—Bryce Juneau 4, Bryce Vitcovich 2, Josh Bevan 10, Michael Painter 15, Cole Grinde 4, Aaron Herrera 0, Nate Heckendorf 0. Eastside Catholic—Malik Putney 2, Matisse Thybulle 4, Brock MacKenzie 0, Max Hudgins 15, Etan Collins 6, Mandrell Worthy 13, Morgan Clark 0, Andrew Padilla 2. 3-point goals—Bevan 2, Painter 1, Hudgins 3. Records—Marysville PIlchuck 19-7, Eastside Catholic 24-6.
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