Lakewood defeats Sedro-Woolley 70-51

The Lakewood boys basketball team hosted the Sedro-Woolley Cubs on Jan. 13.

The Cougars opened the game on a strong 6-0 run as they forced the Red Raiders to call a time out with 5:30 left in the quarter. Throughout the rest of the first quarter Sedro-Woolley was able to slow down Lakewood and match their shots as they finished a low-scoring quarter, Cougars leading 12-9. In the second quarter the Cougars found a different gear as they were able to outrebound, outshoot and push the ball at a pace that the Cubs just couldn’t handle. By halftime, Lakewood doubled the Sedro-Woolley scoring output in the quarter, 30-15, as they went into the half up 42-24.

In the second half the Cougars continued to push the pace as they kept the ball moving and always looked for the open shot. The Cubs tried to slow them down with a few defensive adjustments but were still outscored by double yet again, 18-9, as Lakewood entered the fourth with a huge 60-33 lead. Throughout the rest of the game the Cougars managed to rotate through their bench and give their starters rest, as they took the victory over Sedro-Woolley 79-51.

“We came out flat in the first quarter on offense but I’m still happy seeing how well our defense played. It’s so fun to coach with the fast pace and having players that can all shoot, handle the ball and run up and down the court. We’re taking it game by game in this league but ultimately I have high aspirations for this team,” said Lakewood Head Coach Anthony Wiederkehr.

Out of the starting rotation Morgan Stacey, Alex Jensen and Jackson Schultz stepped up in big moments. Stacey, senior forward, finished as the leading scorer with 22 points, two three-pointers and went eight-for-eight at the free throw line. He also secured a double-double with 11 rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block. Jensen, senior guard, was the second-highest scorer with 12 points, five assists, three rebounds and two steals. Schultz, senior guard, filled the stat sheet with eight points, one three-pointer, four assists, four rebounds, two steals and one block.

The Cougars had a lot of production from their big men off the bench including Kaiden Harrison, Blake Conyers and Andrew Molloy. Harrison, junior forward, put up seven points, one three-pointer, two rebounds and two steals. Conyers, sophomore forward, led the game in steals with five as well as having seven points, two three-pointers, one assist, two rebounds and a block. Molloy, sophomore center, was productive in the paint with six points and five rebounds in limited minutes.

A little over halfway through his senior season, Jensen is cementing himself in Lakewood’s record books. On Jan. 10 against the Mount Baker Mountaineers Jensen broke the school's all-time scoring record by raising his career scoring total to 1,128 which surpassed the previous record of 1,104 points held by Lakewood's Coach Wiederkehr. Jensen also has the school record for steals with 181 and is on pace for a multitude of other career marks. As a four-year varsity starter Jensen has led the Cougars in scoring three out of four years and has been a catalyst for the offense as he has kept his assist-to-turnover ratio above 2.0. Not only has he been noticed by the Lakewood community, but was also the only underclassmen to be first team all-league last season.

“For every award that Alex has gotten, every stat he’s broken and record that he has, his intangibles are so much greater than that. He’s a great leader, a great kid and deserves all the recognition he’s going to get,” said Coach Wiederkehr on Jensen’s record-breaking career.

“It’s really special to be able to get these records and also get the W’s to go along with them. It’s all about practicing how you play, because when you can do that then the games get easy. Right now, it’s about going the rest of the way and seeing if we can get into State,” said Jensen.

Your next chance to catch the Cougars at home will be against the Bellingham on Jan. 23 at 7:15 p.m.