Timberline’s season ends with 65-62 loss to Mountlake Terrace in 3A state tournament
Brooklyn Hicks had one final look at the game-tying shot to send Timberline’s Class 3A state tournament game against Mountlake Terrace to overtime, streaking down the right sideline and letting an off-balance 3-point shot attempt fly.
It wasn’t meant to be, bouncing off the front of the rim as time expired, giving Mountlake Terrace the 65-62 win and bringing Timberline’s season to an end.
“I have confidence shooting every shot, so when I shot it I thought it was going in,” Hicks said. “Seeing it bounce off the rim definitely hurt. ... But we’ll be back next year better and stronger.”
Much of the loss can be pinned on Timberline’s inability to make stops on defense down the stretch. In the final four minutes and 15 seconds of the game, Mountlake Terrace forward Zaveon Jones scored 10 points, overpowering Timberline defenders in the paint.
“I think that was huge,” said Timberline coach Allen Thomas. “Every shot, he gained more and more confidence inside. On the flip side, we were able to run our side pick and roll and get good looks, too, but his were right at the basket. … He’s a load. I think he did exactly what he normally does. He’s very imposing inside.”
The game featured 13 lead changes and eight ties. With both teams going back and forth, Jones said he wanted to be assertive taking the ball to the rim.
“Attack,” Jones said of his mindset in the fourth quarter. “I see an open lane — attack, attack, attack. He’s not trying to guard me, he’s not trying to do anything, so I’m just going to push, push, push.”
Hicks felt the Blazers lacked toughness in the loss.
“It definitely comes down to not getting stops and not rebounding,” he said. “We definitely got out-toughed in this game. It’s something we definitely have to work on.”
Guard Miles Gurske led the Blazers with 22 points, while Hicks added 21 in the loss. Jones led the Hawks with 22 points and guard Jeffrey Anyimah scored 18. Timberline led by a point at the end of the third quarter, when Anyimah nailed a deep 3-pointer to beat the buzzer. It gave Mountlake Terrace the lead heading into the fourth quarter, but more significantly, wrestled away the momentum that was on the Blazers’ side.
“That three at the end of the third quarter was huge,” Thomas said. “We had momentum. I thought their point guard did a great job being a leader. Their role guys played their roles.”
Timberline returns the bulk of its roster next season from a team that won a share of the 3A South Sound Conference title, including both Gurske and Hicks, and big-man Darrell Gipson. Wednesday’s loss felt like the beginning of something for the Blazers, a chance to build toward next season and potentially make a deeper run through the state tournament with a talented core to build around.
“I’m very excited to see what our future holds,” Hicks said. “We’ll be back next year better and stronger.”
