The Meadowdale Mavericks boys basketball team welcomed the Lynnwood Royals to The Stable at Meadowdale High School on Wednesday night in a battle of teams jockeying for 3A Wesco postseason play position.
In a tale of two halves, the visiting Royals outscored the Mavericks 20-9 in the second quarter to take an 11-point lead into halftime.
The second half saw senior forward Nick Buckley and his fellow Mavs dominate the game inside, scoring 47 second-half points on their way to a 67-59 conference victory, and securing their place in at least a play-in game for the post season District tournament.
Buckley, who only had three field goal attempts in the first half, finished the game with a game-high 20 points, six rebounds and four blocks.
“We thought we had an advantage inside if we could get the ball in the paint, but we didn’t do a good enough of a job of that in the first half,” said Meadowdale head coach Roger O’Neill after the game.
“In the second half, we committed to getting ball inside, playing inside out, and you can see with what Buckley finished with, we were able to do that,” he added.
“My teammates were finding me when they were driving,” Buckley said of his second-half heroics. “Dump it off to me, I’ll finish it.”
Also key to the victory was Kade Styles, who pitched in with a 19-point effort that included three 3-pointers and a perfect 6 for 6 from the free throw line.
“He came to our school last year after the basketball season from Billings, Montana, so he was able to play with our guys this summer,” O’Neill said about his senior guard. “We knew we had an asset for sure. He’s been a great fit with the guys.”
Styles was out sick last week, “and his first half tonight was not his greatest performance, but what I love about him is he is fearless,” O’Neill continued. “He keeps going and making plays.”
The Royals were led by Jerry Boston, who finished the game with 19 points, and Jayden Acosta-Newsome with 14.
Each team has just two regular-season games remaining.
Lynnwood’s next game will be Friday night, Feb. 1, when they host Archbishop Murphy at Lynnwood High School beginning at 7:15 p.m.
Meadowdale’s next contest will also be Friday night, when they welcome Mountlake Terrace to Meadowdale High School with a 7:15 tip-off.
Wesco 3A Boys Basketball: Lynnwood at Meadowdale, January 31, 201
Lynnwood 11 20 12 16 —59
Meadowdale 11 9 23 24 —67
Lynnwood scoring: Jerry Boston 19, Jayden Acosta-Newsome 14, Jordan Glover 11, Timmy Taing 6, Gabe Newson 5, Josh Siscar 4, Anthony Williams 0, Edgar Bernabe 0, Carson Speegle 0
Meadowdale scoring: Nick Buckley 20, Kade Styles 19, Cole Nelson 15, Hunter Moen 6, Ray Free 6, Mason Vaughn 1, Tyler Emard 0
Records: Lynnwood 6-6 Conference, 7-11 overall; Meadowdale 6-6 Conference, 10-8 overall
Lynnwood’s next game: versus Archbishop Murphy, February 1, 7;15 p.m. at Lynnwood High School
Meadowdale’s next game: versus Mountlake Terrace, February 1, 7;15 p.m. at Meadowdale High School
— Story and photos by Scott Williams
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