PREP BOYS' BASKETBALL: Mariners edge Red Raiders

PREP BOYS' BASKETBALL: Mariners edge Red Raiders
MICHELLE NOLAN - THE BELLINGHAM HERALD

BELLINGHAM - All-county soccer defender Geordie Marriner responded in humble fashion when asked what his basketball scoring average is.

"Not very much," Sehome's quick 5-foot-11 senior guard responded with a joyful grin.
Marriner, a first-year starter who is primarily in the lineup for defensive excellence and leadership, turned in what he acknowledged was the game of his life to help the Mariners claim a wild 67-65 victory over host Bellingham on Friday, Jan. 14.

Marriner shot 6 for 9 from the field and tied for team scoring honors with 14 points, more than double his average.

Marriner and Sehome coach A.J. LaBree acknowledged the shot of the game was by senior scoring leader Colin Peterson - what LaBree called a "real gutsy" long 3-pointer for a 64-60 lead with one minute and 10 seconds to play.

"We have lots of guys who can score, so that opened it up for me tonight," said Marriner, who wasn't about to take much of the credit. "But I'm a soccer guy. I've signed a binder commitment to attend Pomona and I'll play soccer there. I'm just having a lot of fun with our basketball team, since we have a lot of guys (seven seniors) who have played together for a long time."
Bellingham (5-8, 1-5 Northwest Conference) rallied to take a 54-45 lead with one minute left in the third quarter, but the quicker Mariners (11-2, 5-1) went on a 16-2 run before Bellingham's Alex Check and Myles Ayers scored to cut Sehome's advantage to 61-60.

Then came Peterson's big moment.

"We have several guys who aren't afraid to step up and take the big shot, like Colin's 3-pointer," said LaBree. "That was really a pretty gutsy shot."

As for Marriner, LaBree was happy to see the soccer star finally play full speed ahead.
"Geordie likes to slow the game down, and I've been trying to convince him he's at his best when he speeds up the game," said LaBree. "He's a pretty good team manager, but we like him to play at a fast pace."

Bellingham received outstanding efforts from 6-5 senior center Ayers, who shot 9 for 16 and finished with game highs of 21 points, 13 rebounds, six assists and two blocks, and Check, who went 9 for 18 for 20 points in one of the sophomores top efforts.

Sehome, as usual, prospered with its balance. Senior guard John Albert had 14 points and six of the Mariners' 17 steals, while Peterson went 5 for 9 for 12 points and sophomore forward Charlie Linneman had 13 points and nine rebounds while matching Peterson with three steals.

Ayers grabbed eight offensive rebounds and scored on five of them to lead Bellingham's 49-28 rebound advantage, including almost as many offensive rebounds (24) as Sehome had total rebounds.
"But we forced 25 turnovers, and that's the eighth game in a row where we've forced at least 20 turnovers," said LaBree.

During Sehome's late-game run, Bellingham was called for two technicals - including an ejection for coach Mark Wright - and Linneman made three of four free throws. LaBree showed a lot of confidence in the 6-3 sophomore by sending him to the line for the free throws, which cut Bellingham's lead to 54-52.

Albert then shot a 3-pointer from the corner, Marriner scored on a drive and Albert scored on both a rebound and a pass from Kevin Virk after Virk's steal, giving Sehome a 61-56 lead.
Following Peterson's game-turning 3-pointer, Linneman made one free throw and Albert sank two to offset late baskets by Dan East and Check. The Raiders then stole the inbounds pass and Jared Wells made a free throw with half a second left, but all the Mariners had to do was make a long inbounds pass to end the game.

SEHOME 67, BELLINGHAM 65
Sehome     17    19    13    18    -    67
Bellingham     16    17    21    11    -    65
SeBellingham: 14, John Albert 14, Charlie Linneman 13, Colin Peterson 12, Danny Stonedahl 4, Konstantin Andrushenko 2, Kevin Virk 4, Titi Lamositele 0, Jake Lester 2, Tim Elliott 2, Gabe Sanchez 0. Team totals: 22-56 19-27 67.
Bellingham: Ayers 21, Alex Check 20, Dan East 8, Sam Clitheroe 5, Jared Wells 3, Chase Layton 3, Blake Zender 0, Sullivan Hope-Wight 5, Von Holmes 0, Kyle Redmond 0Team totals: 28-64 5-8 65.
3-point goals: Sehome 4 (Peterson 2, Albert 2); Bellingham 4 (Layton, Check, Clitheroe, Hope-Wight). Rebounds: Bellingham 49 (Ayers 13); Sehome 28 (Linneman 9). Assists: Bellingham 15 (Ayers 6), Sehome 6 (Linneman 2, Albert 2). Total fouls: Bellingham 21, Sehome 13. Turnovers: Bellingham 25, Sehome 14.


Read more: http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2011/01/14/1817497/prep-boys-basketball-mariners.html