Stuck in fifth gear all season, the run-and-gun Service High boys basketball team shifted to almost a crawl Thursday night. Rather than thriving in transition and pushing the ball down their opponents' throat, the Cougars were content to walk.
It was strange watching Service methodically pass the ball in a half-court offense, especially since the team's bread and butter had been attacking the basket as if there was a shot clock.
But the new strategy worked wonders.
Service shortened the game and took a 69-56 victory over streaking Bartlett during a loser-out first-round game of the CIC Tournament at West High.
"We wanted to slow it down because we were slumping a little," said Service point guard Marcus Lowe. "At the beginning when we were running and doing our normal thing, we had a lot of turnovers. We didn't want to turn the ball over and give them a second chance because they've got a lot of good shooters."
The game plan worked to perfection and helped the No. 4 seed Cougars beat the No. 5 Golden Bears in perhaps the most anticipated opening round tournament game. The teams had split their season series, with both games going to overtime.
But this time around, Service (15-9) finished the job in regulation to advance to tonight's semifinals and keep their hopes alive for a berth to the Class 4A state tournament. The Cougars just have to win one more game to clinch a spot in the Elite Eight at state.
"Everything is up for grabs," Service's Markese Bookhard said. "As you know, Chugiak beat West, so it ain't West-West-West no more."
Service kept its title hopes intact, thanks to its triple-scoring threat of Bookhard (21 points), Lowe (15 points) and Josh Lopez (15 points). That trio's scoring, as well as the impressive rebounding of 6-foot-1 Demetrius Preston, lifted the Cougars out of the first round and ended Bartlett's season at (11-12).
"I can only feel their pain. But for the last three years I've been with my head down, so I've been right where they are now," Bookhard said. "I've never made it past the first round.
"I feel bad for them but at the same time, I'm happy we got this win."
The loss ended Bartlett's spirited run that saw the Golden Bears finish the second half of conference with a 6-1 record, including victories over each CIC team except regular-season champion East. And they never quit fighting Thursday, slicing an 18-point deficit down to eight on Dexter Registe's three-pointer with 1:19 to play.
"Our shots just weren't falling (early)," Bartlett's Terence Anthony said. "They came out and played harder than we did."
Registe finished with 14 points, matching Antwan Ziegler for team-high honors. The 6-foot-7 Ziegler also grabbed 13 rebounds, handed out five assists and blocked five shots.
Service closed the game by burning the clock and draining its free throws. The team sank nine of 10 foul shots in the final 75 seconds to finish 18 of 24 overall.
"We're a small team, so all we can do is get to the free-throw line," Bookhard said. "Ain't nobody gonna be dunking on nobody from this team, so getting to the free-throw line is how we're gonna do it."
Daily News reporter Van Williams can be reached at vwilliams@adn.com or 257-4335.
BARTLETT (56) -- Registe 14, Jennings 8, Ziegler 14, Winford 10, Devoe 10.
SERVICE (69) -- Ginnett 5, Beckett 5, Lopez 15, Lowe 15, Bookhard 21, Cotton 2, Preston 6.
Bartlett 12 13 7 24 -- 56
Service 21 14 15 19 -- 69
Dimond 72, South 55
A slow start was all the motivation Rylan Whilden needed to get the Lynx on the right track and into the next round.
Whilden dropped a game-high 30 points on the Wolverines in the day's first loser-out game, with 28 of them coming after the first quarter. The junior sharpshooter had his perimeter game and his driving game going, leading to 12-of-14 shooting from the foul line.
He scored 12 of Dimond's 24 points in the second quarter to help the third-seeded Lynx (15-8) build a 36-23 lead.
"I didn't really have a very good first quarter, so I figured I had to step it up since South was sticking with us," said Whilden, who added five rebounds and four assists. "It feels good because we were kind of on a slide, losing five of six games."
Dimond's Chris Plooy and Austin Mallory combined for 22 points and 18 rebounds to help the Lynx win the battle of the boards 44-26. Colton Lauwers chipped in nine points and six assists.
Sixth-seeded South (10-12) had three double-digit scorers, with Anthony Cousin netting 14, Justin Kauffman 11 and Aaron Stevens 10. Stevens also had six rebounds and six blocked shots.
The Wolverines clawed within eight points late in the fourth quarter before Plooy scored back-to-back baskets, including a dunk that was the punctuation mark.
"We're pretty confident with our team," Whilden said. "We think we can beat anybody in the state."
SOUTH (55) -- A. Cousin 14, Plymire 2, Nolan 3, Nolder 9, Stevens 10, D. Cousin 2, Wells 4, Kauffman 11.
DIMOND (72) -- Melendez 4, Plooy 12, Hanley 7, Whilden 30, Lauwers 9, Mallory 10.
South 14 9 17 15 -- 55
Dimond 12 24 13 23 -- 72
GIRLS
Dimond 50, Service 47
The upset-minded Lynx provided the first surprise of the girls tournament, rallying to beat No. 3-seed Service with a strong second half.
Defending Class 4A state champion Dimond (10-13) outscored Service 28-19 in the final 16 minutes to earn its first win over the Cougars in three meetings this season.
Jasmynn Liggon matched Tara McAdoo for team-high scoring honors with 11 points, and Carolyn Savage iced the game with a pair of free throws with two seconds left.
"We really wanted to win," Liggon said. "Us seniors didn't want it to be our last game."
Service lost despite 6-foot-1 junior Sylvia Bullock hauling down a whopping 27 rebounds, including 11 on the offensive end. Bullock joined teammates Stephanie Eldred and Andrianna Aukusitino with a team-best 12 points. The Cougars ended their season at 11-12.
Eldred sank a three-pointer with 12 seconds left to pull Service within 48-47. After Savage made two free throws, Eldred missed a hurried three at the buzzer.
DIMOND (50) -- J. DeGuzman 7, Tes 6, Savage 5, McAdoo 11, Liggon 11, Bagsby 2, Davydenko 8.
SERVICE (47) -- Edmunds 5, Lawson 2, Eldred 12, LaPointe 2, Zager 2, Aukusitino 12, Bullock 12.
Dimond 13 9 15 13 -- 50
Service 17 11 7 12 -- 47
South 41, Bartlett 30
The Wolverines ended the game on a 13-0 run to rally and reach the conference semifinals for the first time under rookie coach Ryan Hales.
South's Yuki Oestgaard scored four of her seven points in the deciding run and teammate Alex Brewster iced the win with an old- fashioned three-point play with 1:10 remaining.
"It's a big win for us, getting into the next round," Hales said. "We gotta bring it. Everybody is playing pretty much even right now, so you can't take anybody for granted."
Liza Spano netted a team-best nine points, and Brewster grabbed a team-high seven rebounds for the No. 4 seed Wolverines (13-9).
Bartlett freshman Tasia Holdorf gave Bartlett its first lead at 30-28 early in the fourth quarter when she banked in a 15-footer. But the Golden Bears ended the game on a cold-shooting streak and finished 5 for 31 in the second half.
Holdorf and Shayna Everett each had eight points for Bartlett.
BARTLETT (30) -- Neely 3, Burks 4, James 2, King 2, Holdorf 8, Everett 8.
SOUTH (41) -- Brewster 5, Mahan 8, Gurule 4, Gamblin 8, Spano 9, Oestgaard 7.
Bartlett 12 5 9 4 -- 30
South 13 12 3 13 -- 41
