Some might call Edmonds-Woodway boys basketball coach Robert Brown a little cantankerous before games, but Brown and his team have learned to feed off it.

The Warriors and their grouchy leader came out of the locker room with on fire Friday and rode that intensity to a 66-61 victory over the visiting Mountlake Terrace Hawks in a Wesco League South Conference match-up played at Edmonds-Woodway High School.

The win solidified the Warriors’ grasp on first place in the division, two games ahead of the second-place Hawks with just over two weeks to go in the regular season.

Brown admitted that his crabby pre-game disposition has come to be a regular part of the Warriors’ routine. “I kind of set the mood,” he said. “I’m really a cranky person before a game.”

Brown hinted that his temperamental nature prior to tip-off may now be part of the formula for the Warriors’ (7-0 in Wesco League South play, 14-2 overall) strong effort on the court this season.

“I don’t know about success, but it really is a mood-setter for the guys,” Brown explained. “They’re used to it; it’s what they’re used to me being like before a game. And I think it gets them comfortable, to know what they have to do.”

“For this group, it lets them know that someone has their back and just to go out there and fly around and be really physical,” he continued. ‘Its fine because that’s the way my coach is — that’s what he expects me to be.’”

Using a forceful full court press and challenging nearly every Terrace shot, E-W jumped out to a 17-5 lead in the first quarter. The Warriors expanded their lead to as many as 14 points in the second half before fighting off a fourth quarter comeback attempt by the Hawks.

For a team that is averaging 78.6 points per game this year, it was the Warriors’ defense that Brown praised Friday.

“Tonight was a huge step in where we want to do defensively,” he said. “I think we played a sound defensive game. Usually we are led by our offense; our offense is kind of what brings people into the gym, but defensively we’ve been up-and-down and I think today was a step in the right direction.”

The Warriors’ held Terrace to just 22 first-half points and the Hawks’ bench to just seven points for the game.

Terrace Coach Nalin Sood also recognized the defensive effort that E-W put out on Friday. “It’s tough and it’s quick,” Sood said. “Then they go with a three-guard lineup (with David) Woodard – he’s a physical guy, so he can go rebound and play a little bit inside.”

On the offensive end, Woodard scored just 12 points, half his season average of 24 points per game. But his Warrior teammates helped fill the void as Brady Edwards and Ryan Peterson each tallied 12 points; Tre’var Holland contributed 11 points for E-W.

Terrace tried to make a game of it in the final period, cutting the Warrior lead to four points at the midway point of the fourth quarter. “It was 53-49 and we just needed to get some stoppers and make some plays and (instead) we had some key turnovers,” Sood observed of his squad’s comeback try.

“We got it to 53-49 and that’s when you’ve got to put the pedal down and overtake them, and we didn’t do that,” he added.

The Hawks were led in scoring by the 15 points of Gabe Altenberger; teammates Derek Anyimah and Shimron Masih each scored 14 points while Khyree Armstead added 11 points.

With the final stretch of the regular season now in full view (games against division foes Glacier Peak, Shorecrest, Meadowdale and Shorewood), Sood was optimistic for his team’s future despite the loss to Edmonds-Woodway on Friday.

“We’ve got to make sure these last four we are at the top of our game,” he concluded. “And if we stay on top of our game and play really hard – and just play hard – then we’ll be feeling good about ourselves going into the middle of February.”

The game was livestreamed on the Sound Live Sports Network. You can watch the replay at SoundLiveSportsNetwork.com

Prep Boys Basketball: Mountlake Terrace at Edmonds-Woodway, Jan. 22

Mountlake Terrace 9 13 16 23 — 61
Edmonds-Woodway 17 14 19 16 — 66

Mountlake Terrace scoring: Gabe Altenberger 15, Derek Anyimah 14, Shimron Masih 14, Khyree Armstead 11, Carson Dallas 7, Gabe Powter, Joey Gardner

Edmonds-Woodway scoring: David Woodard 12, Brady Edwards 12, Ryan Peterson 12, Tre’var Holland 11, Noah Becker 6, Jordan Rice 6, Ali Gaye 4, Joe Cooper 2, Grygoriy Lozynskyy 1, Edikal Seare

Records: Mountlake Terrace 5-3 in Wesco League South Conference, 11-5 overall; Edmonds-Woodway 7-1 in Wesco League South Conference, 14-2 overall

Mountlake Terrace next game: versus Glacier Peak, Friday, Jan. 29, 7:15 p.m. at Mountlake Terrace High School

Edmonds-Woodway next game: versus Shorewood, Tuesday, Jan. 26, 7:15 p.m. at Shorewood High School

— Story and photos by Doug Petrowski