Taking on their third Wesco 4A team in a week, the Meadowdale Mavericks boys basketball team traveled to Mill Creek to take onJackson at Jackson High School Friday night, only to squander a late lead and fall to the Timberwolves in overtime, 65-55.

A one-point win, 58-57 over Mariner on Monday, followed by a 28-point drubbing at the hands of Mount Vernon on Wednesday, 69-41, had the Mavericks hungry to take on the Wolves.

Jackson, fresh off a 67-58 loss to Marysville-Pilchuck on Wednesday night, was looking to avenge a tough two-point loss at Meadowdale last season, 49-47.

6-foot-7 senior forward Jaylen Searles scored seven in the first quarter to help the Timberwolves create a five-point lead at the end of one, 17-12.

Meadowdale returned the favor in the second, outscoring Jackson 14-9, tying the game at 26 at the half. Leonardo Baquian hit a big three and Cole Nelson was 4 for 4 from the free throw line to lead the Mavs’ charge.

The Mavs controlled much of the second half, highlighted by a three-pointer from Nelson with just under four minutes to play in the game that gave Meadowdale its largest lead of the game at nine.

That’s when Jackson woke up.

The Timberwolves outplayed the Mavs down the stretch, capped by a three-pointer from Searles with less than 10 seconds to play over the outstretched arms of a Meadowdale defender.

Mavericks forward Colton Walsh got off a spinning fade-away jumper from about 10 feet out as time expired, but it was off the mark, sending the game to overtime.

Searles and the Timberwolves dominated in the extra period, outscoring Meadowdale 10-0 to finish the game.

“Our message has been pretty consistent through this non-league run, we wanted to get battle tested. Battle tested for our lead schedule,” Meadowdale head coach Roger O’Neill said after the game. “This week I think we played three of the top four teams in Wesco 4A.

“Really unfortunate the way it ended for us tonight, but I feel ready,” O’Neill added. “I feel ready for anything someone is going to throw at us in our league. This week we got put in a bunch of different spots. We had to play from behind. We went possession for possession with Mariner, and then tonight, unfortunately we had to learn the lesson the hard way, but we were in a position to protect a lead late. Those lessons are going to be really valuable for us.”

The Mavs’ effort Friday night was led by Cole Nelson who finished the night with 22 points including four 3-pointers.  It was a nice bounce-back game for Nelson, who struggled Wednesday night, going scoreless against Mount Vernon.

“In the middle of Wednesday’s game, we were telling him to keep shooting and obviously that wasn’t his night.” O’Neill said of his junior guard. “But that’s not going to happen very many times. He’s one of the best shooters in the league, and he hit some big ones tonight. One of them put us up by nine with 3:30 or 4 minutes left. We’re going to learn from that, and be sure that next time in that position, that’s the dagger that puts someone away.”

Also making big contributions to the Mavs’ effort Friday night were Colton Walsh, who finished with 18 points and Mason Vaughn, who had an outstanding night on the boards, leading all rebounders with 12, including five offensive rebounds to go with six points and four assists.

“That was such a great performance from Mason. He fouls out inside a minute to play, and it hit me all at once, that was a hell of a game he just played,” O’Neill said.

“He’s huge for us. He’s 6-foot-1, and he looks 6-foot-1 but you watch him play, and you’d think he’s 6-4, 6-5. He’s not afraid to get physical. He’s worked hard in the weight room and he’s going to go show it off a little. I love that,” O’Neill added.

Meadowdale’s next game will be Wednesday, Dec. 18, at 7:15 p.m. when the Mavs visit Snohomish High School to face the Panthers in their Wesco 3A conference opener.

In other Meadowdale basketball results from Friday, the Mavericks’ girls team overcame a slow start and defeated the Everett Seagulls 50-40 in a non-conference matchup at Meadowdale High School.

Fatoumata Jaiteh led the Mavericks in scoring with 13 points; Lilly Williams scored 12 points and Kaisha Stark added 11 points.

Prep Boys Basketball: Meadowdale at Jackson, Dec. 13

Meadowdale 12   14   14   15  00 — 64

Jackson         17   09   10   19  10 — 55

Meadowdale individual scoring: Cole Nelson 22, Colton Walsh 18, Mason Vaughn 6, Hunter Moen 5, Leonardo Baquian 3, Justin Jackson 1, Beau Hopkins 0, Will McKinley 0

Jackson individual scoring: Jaylen Searles 27, Jesse Hoiby 12, Jordan Collins 11, Carter Korab 9, Nick Sysum 6, Bailey Harmon 0, Clay Cortright 0, Nick Erickson 0, Cooper Smith 0, Evan Bates 0

Records: Meadowdale 0-0 in 2A/3A Wesco League, 1-4 overall; Jackson 0-0 in 4A Wesco Conference; 1-2 overall

Meadowdale next game: versus Snohomish; Wednesday, Dec. 18; 7:15 p.m. at Snohomish High School

Prep Girls Basketball: Everett at Meadowdale, Dec. 13

Everett 12   4 14 10 — 40

Meadowdale   9 11 17 13 — 50

Meadowdale individual scoring: Fatoumata Jaiteh 13, Lilly Williams 12, Kaisha Stark 11, Alicia Morrison 6, Soriah Swinton 5, Nicole Dallas 3, Maia Austvold, Jenaly Gabriel, Jordan Leith

Everett individual scoring: Raeya Pentz 13, Farrah Parrish 13, Savannah Franck-Tolentino 7, Andrea Parrish 5, Ella Sylvester 2, Emma Larson, Caroline Jameson

Records: Meadowdale 0-0 in 2A/3A Wesco League, 2-1 overall; Everett 0-0 in 2A/3A Wesco League, 3-2 overall

Meadowdale next game: versus Snohomish; Tuesday, Dec. 17; 7:15 p.m. at Meadowdale High School

— Story and photos by Scott Williams