PREP BOYS' BASKETBALL: Adjustments help Sehome to win over city rival
DAVID RASBACH - THE BELLINGHAM HERALD
BELLINGHAM - Sehome boys' basketball coach A.J. LaBree can only hope the pregame adjustments he makes when the Northwest Conference season begins next week pay as many dividends as two key changes he made before a showdown with city rival Bellingham on Friday, Dec. 9.
After watching Anacortes repeatedly break an aggressive Mariners press in a loss on Tuesday, Dec. 6, LaBree and his coaching staff had the team change to a bit safer full-court zone press against Bellingham on Friday. The result was 23 turnovers by the Red Raiders - 19 coming via the steal.
And, to match up with Bellingham's 6-foot-9 Derek Guy in the post, LaBree inserted 6-6 Riley Fraser in the starting lineup for the first time to utilize his size and athleticism in the paint. All Fraser did in his first career start was record a double-double.
After watching Anacortes repeatedly break an aggressive Mariners press in a loss on Tuesday, Dec. 6, LaBree and his coaching staff had the team change to a bit safer full-court zone press against Bellingham on Friday. The result was 23 turnovers by the Red Raiders - 19 coming via the steal.
And, to match up with Bellingham's 6-foot-9 Derek Guy in the post, LaBree inserted 6-6 Riley Fraser in the starting lineup for the first time to utilize his size and athleticism in the paint. All Fraser did in his first career start was record a double-double.
"It was all coaching," LaBree joked.
Whatever the reason, Sehome claimed a 62-47 non-conference win, as Riley led four Sehome players in double figures with 15 points and pulled down 12 rebounds.
"The coach came to me and told me he thought I might match up well with some of their guys in the post," Fraser said. "I'm just glad I was able to help out. Our team did a real good job of moving the ball tonight and finding the open guy."
More often than not, that open player seemed to be Fraser, who hit five field goals from inside the paint, twice drawing a foul in the process. He went to the foul line three other times, and always seemed to come up with the big rebound when the Mariners needed it.
"Riley was a difference maker for us tonight," LaBree said. "He's a guy that gives us some size and athletic ability on the inside. He did a good job in our game against Blaine against their big posts, so my coaches and I talked about the idea of starting him, and thought it would be good to give him a shot. He's a guy that didn't play last year, so he's still catching up, but he came out and played really strong tonight."
Fraser wasn't the only difference maker for Sehome (2-1), though.
Drew Ronson added 13 points and five rebounds, while Konstantin Andrushenko finished with 12 points and Gabe Sanchez had 10.
While Ronson's, Andrushenko's and Sanchez's point totals were nice complements to Riley, where they may have made their biggest contributions was on defense.
Andrushenko picked Bellingham's pocket a game-high five times, while Ronson was right behind with four steals and Sanchez had three.
"We played a lot safer press tonight," Andrushenko said. "We were able to put pressure on their guards, and try to get some 10-second calls. But the main thing is we didn't want to allow the fast-break opportunities like we did last time (against Anacortes). I thought we did a pretty good job of getting to the ball tonight."
With Sehome's 19 steals, Andrushenko, Ronson and Sanchez obviously weren't the only master thieves for the Mariners on Friday. Noah Cyr-Moore matched Sanchez with three, while Fraser chipped in two. Evan Miksovsky and Jake Slesk each had one.
"We always focus on trying to get 20 turnovers," LaBree said. "To get 19 of them with steals, then were off and running the other way."
That's exactly how Sehome was able to open its lead in the first quarter.
After spotting the Red Raiders (1-3) the first basket of the game, Sehome came right back to score the next 13. During that run, Sehome had three steals.
"I don't know how much their pressure hurt us tonight - I felt we just shot ourselves in the foot," Bellingham coach Ken Crawford said. "I guess when you think about it, that shows that they did get to us."
Bellingham, in turn, was never really able to get to the Mariners.
The Red Raiders drew within five points midway through the second quarter and were down by only a 28-23 count at halftime, but they could never seem to find a way to get any closer.
"I think Sehome did a great job of staying calm tonight," Crawford said. "We made that one big run at them, but they never lost their cool. They just kept doing the things that they do, which is press and attack the basket, and they did a great job with that tonight."
Bellingham was led by 15 points and eight rebounds from Alex Check, while Guy finished with eight points and eight rebounds. Tristan Hurley also scored eight off the bench.
"I told our guys, for the first time all season, I thought we started to look like a basketball team tonight," Crawford said. "I thought we did a good job of reversing the ball, and I counted three good press breaks that we ran, and we even got some good shots. We didn't shoot the ball all that well (15 for 46), but if we keep getting good looks like we did tonight, that will come around."
Bellingham has one more non-conference tune up left on Tuesday, Dec. 13, when it hosts Lynden Christian, while Sehome will face another test from another city rival when it hosts Squalicum that same night. The Red Raiders and Mariners will meet in NWC play on Jan. 12 at Sehome.
Reach David Rasbach at david.rasbach@bellinghamherald.com or 360-715-2271.
SEHOME 62, BELLINGHAM 47
Sehome 16 12 16 18 - 62
Bellingham 7 16 12 12 - 47
Sehome: Drew Ronson 13, Evan Miksovsky 0, Jake Slesk 3, Lawrence Strasser 0 Konstantin Andrushenko 12, Noah Cyr-Moore 7, Charlie Linneman 2, Riley Fraser 15, Gabe Sanchez 10, Jake Schacht 0. Team totals: 23-44 12-22 62
Bellingham: Niall Quinn 1, Kyle Redmond 2, Cyrus Davies 0, Alex Check 15, Nick Zeegers 6, Blake Zender 2, Derek Guy 8, Keande Washington 0, Yeung Yip 0, Tristan Hurley 8, Marcus Reynolds 5. Team totals: 15-46 13-17 47.
3-ptg: Sehome 6 (Andrushenko 2, Sanchez 2), Bellingham 4 (Zeegers 2, Hurley 2). Rebounds: Sehome 29 (Fraser 12), Bellingham 40 (Check 8, Guy 8). Assists: Sehome 11 (Cyr-Moore 4), Bellingham 5 (Check 2, Zender 2). Fouls: Sehome 19 (Ronson fouled out), Bellingham 16. Turnovers: Sehome 15, Bellingham 23.
Whatever the reason, Sehome claimed a 62-47 non-conference win, as Riley led four Sehome players in double figures with 15 points and pulled down 12 rebounds.
"The coach came to me and told me he thought I might match up well with some of their guys in the post," Fraser said. "I'm just glad I was able to help out. Our team did a real good job of moving the ball tonight and finding the open guy."
More often than not, that open player seemed to be Fraser, who hit five field goals from inside the paint, twice drawing a foul in the process. He went to the foul line three other times, and always seemed to come up with the big rebound when the Mariners needed it.
"Riley was a difference maker for us tonight," LaBree said. "He's a guy that gives us some size and athletic ability on the inside. He did a good job in our game against Blaine against their big posts, so my coaches and I talked about the idea of starting him, and thought it would be good to give him a shot. He's a guy that didn't play last year, so he's still catching up, but he came out and played really strong tonight."
Fraser wasn't the only difference maker for Sehome (2-1), though.
Drew Ronson added 13 points and five rebounds, while Konstantin Andrushenko finished with 12 points and Gabe Sanchez had 10.
While Ronson's, Andrushenko's and Sanchez's point totals were nice complements to Riley, where they may have made their biggest contributions was on defense.
Andrushenko picked Bellingham's pocket a game-high five times, while Ronson was right behind with four steals and Sanchez had three.
"We played a lot safer press tonight," Andrushenko said. "We were able to put pressure on their guards, and try to get some 10-second calls. But the main thing is we didn't want to allow the fast-break opportunities like we did last time (against Anacortes). I thought we did a pretty good job of getting to the ball tonight."
With Sehome's 19 steals, Andrushenko, Ronson and Sanchez obviously weren't the only master thieves for the Mariners on Friday. Noah Cyr-Moore matched Sanchez with three, while Fraser chipped in two. Evan Miksovsky and Jake Slesk each had one.
"We always focus on trying to get 20 turnovers," LaBree said. "To get 19 of them with steals, then were off and running the other way."
That's exactly how Sehome was able to open its lead in the first quarter.
After spotting the Red Raiders (1-3) the first basket of the game, Sehome came right back to score the next 13. During that run, Sehome had three steals.
"I don't know how much their pressure hurt us tonight - I felt we just shot ourselves in the foot," Bellingham coach Ken Crawford said. "I guess when you think about it, that shows that they did get to us."
Bellingham, in turn, was never really able to get to the Mariners.
The Red Raiders drew within five points midway through the second quarter and were down by only a 28-23 count at halftime, but they could never seem to find a way to get any closer.
"I think Sehome did a great job of staying calm tonight," Crawford said. "We made that one big run at them, but they never lost their cool. They just kept doing the things that they do, which is press and attack the basket, and they did a great job with that tonight."
Bellingham was led by 15 points and eight rebounds from Alex Check, while Guy finished with eight points and eight rebounds. Tristan Hurley also scored eight off the bench.
"I told our guys, for the first time all season, I thought we started to look like a basketball team tonight," Crawford said. "I thought we did a good job of reversing the ball, and I counted three good press breaks that we ran, and we even got some good shots. We didn't shoot the ball all that well (15 for 46), but if we keep getting good looks like we did tonight, that will come around."
Bellingham has one more non-conference tune up left on Tuesday, Dec. 13, when it hosts Lynden Christian, while Sehome will face another test from another city rival when it hosts Squalicum that same night. The Red Raiders and Mariners will meet in NWC play on Jan. 12 at Sehome.
Reach David Rasbach at david.rasbach@bellinghamherald.com or 360-715-2271.
SEHOME 62, BELLINGHAM 47
Sehome 16 12 16 18 - 62
Bellingham 7 16 12 12 - 47
Sehome: Drew Ronson 13, Evan Miksovsky 0, Jake Slesk 3, Lawrence Strasser 0 Konstantin Andrushenko 12, Noah Cyr-Moore 7, Charlie Linneman 2, Riley Fraser 15, Gabe Sanchez 10, Jake Schacht 0. Team totals: 23-44 12-22 62
Bellingham: Niall Quinn 1, Kyle Redmond 2, Cyrus Davies 0, Alex Check 15, Nick Zeegers 6, Blake Zender 2, Derek Guy 8, Keande Washington 0, Yeung Yip 0, Tristan Hurley 8, Marcus Reynolds 5. Team totals: 15-46 13-17 47.
3-ptg: Sehome 6 (Andrushenko 2, Sanchez 2), Bellingham 4 (Zeegers 2, Hurley 2). Rebounds: Sehome 29 (Fraser 12), Bellingham 40 (Check 8, Guy 8). Assists: Sehome 11 (Cyr-Moore 4), Bellingham 5 (Check 2, Zender 2). Fouls: Sehome 19 (Ronson fouled out), Bellingham 16. Turnovers: Sehome 15, Bellingham 23.
