by Mark Butcher

Sports Writer

All teams face uncertainty on opening day and the Mountain View Boys Varsity were no exception Tuesday (Nov. 13) at Central Kitsap Middle School in Silverdale, Wash. Only one player had previous varsity experience and that was limited. Four others were playing their first varsity game after playing JV last year. And, four were playing school ball for the first time in their basketball career.

But that didn’t mean third-year Head Coach Jesse Taylor sent his team onto to CK Cubs hardwood unprepared. The team had a plan, a good plan, that they executed.

Facing skilled guard, the Squires open in a 3-2 zone defense. This limited the CK guards from confortably running their desired offense. As such, the Cubs scored just six points in both the 1^st and 2^nd quarters.

Down low, Mountain View lacked Central's heighth so they compensated with aggressive team rebounding. In the first half, the Squires pulled down 44% of their offensive rebounds, which allowed them to take a 14-to-12 lead into the mid-game break.

Throughout the entire contest, rebounding was a collective Mountain View effort. Trevon Pietz finished with a team-high nine boards. Jaylon Green, Angelite Mejia, and Amir Thomas all followed with eight a piece.

Offensively, the Squires were carried by Green through the first two period. He scored 10 of the Squires 14 first half points, six from the post and four on offensive rebound put-backs.

The second half was a completely different story.

First, because Central Kitsap figured-out they could open up the paint for their big men by getting the ball to one of the low corner wings. This forced the nearside Squire post-defender to come out to defend and created an opening in the middle.

Second, the Mountain View guards started listening to the siren call of the three-point line and forgot that it was the post players that won the 1^st and 2^nd quarters for the team. In the remaining two periods, the Squires guard threw-up nine three pointers, a third of the team’s shots, and didn’t connect on a single one. And, Green, who attempted 12 field goal attempts in the first half, making five, got just two attempts the entire second half.

What post-offense Mountain View did generate in the second sixteen-minutes of play came from Thomas. Thomas scored all eight of this game points in the 3^rd quarter, two on a turnaround, two off an offensive rebound, and three at the charity strip, on 3 of 4 free throw shooting.

Putting 21 points on the scoreboard in the 3^rd quarter, Central Kitsap took control of the game and led 33-to-23 at the end of three. In the 4^th they scored an addition 17-points to post a 50-to-29 final score. Their first win of the young 2018 Kitsap Co. Middle School Boys Basketball season.

Thursday (Nov. 15) the Squires will return home to lace-them-up against the visiting John Sedgwick General from Port Orchard, Wash. Varsity tip-off is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. The JV game will follow at 5.

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