McCune’s quick-thinking assist helps defeat league leader
By JOHN GALBREATH Sports Editor
McCune’s (right) quick-thinking assist helps defeat league leader. PHOTO BY JOHN GALBREATH | STANWOOD/CAMANO NEWS
Now that the Spartan boys have found some shooters who could hit with consistency, it was time to roust out some role players who could play their parts with a similar degree of aplomb.
Add Michael McCune’s name to the latter list.
The 6-foot-3 honors student, who directed the Stanwood football eleven as its field general the past two seasons, has proven his worth time and again on the local hardwoods this winter as well.
Tuesday night he became an instant hero when, while trailing 63-60 with just 13.4 seconds remaining in the Sparts’ pivotal encounter with undefeated, league-leading Lake Stevens, he stepped to the foul line after being awarded two free throws.
He buried the first and then, without hesitation, stepped between two defenders near the foul line as his second shot careened high off the iron and, after battling to maintain possession, he flipped the leather to teammate Kale Schmidt who calmly swished a threepointer that proved to be the game winner.
That basket moved the Spartans back into contention for the league championship with a 9-2 conference mark, just a game behind the 10-1 Vikings. Even more importantly, it has infused the local basketeers with a positive enthusiasm that should carry them through the final five WesCo 4A North games they have remaining.
It also extended the team’s winning streak to six games.
All of that just about didn’t happen. The final two quarters of frenetic action saw no less than 12 lead changes and four ties. In addition, the Stanwood five actually trailed by four points, 62-58, with just 38 seconds remaining.
Enter another role player who has relished his task as a scrappy defender and as a sparkplug offensively – Austin Cook. Over the past four or five games his contributions have been integral to the Sparts’ recent success. In this instance, Cook drove the lane and narrowed the Vikes’ lead to 62-60 with a banker off the glass.
A Lake Stevens gifter widened the margin to 63-60 with 20.8 seconds remaining.
Seven seconds later Michael McCune stepped to the foul line – the fate of his team on his shoulders.
Oh, and those players who have become scorers? They performed as expected. Kale Schmidt preceded his game winner with 16 counters, senior guard Drew Haugstad scored 13 more and Zack Johnson, the acknowledged low post workhorse on the squad, led Stanwood with 21 points and 12 rebounds despite constant double- and triple-teaming by the opposition.
Other Spartan scorers included Michael McCune 5, Austin Cook 3, Brock Reinecke 2 and Jordan Taylor 1.
As it turned out, the battle with the Vikings was not the only game that required the Spartans’ attention. Friday night the local cagers traveled to Arlington in an attempt to clip the Eagles’ wings.
Luckily, the fourth frame proved to be a prolific one for the Sparts after they trailed their hosts 51-49 after 24 minutes of play.
Zack Johnson scored nine points in the period to finish with a career-high 28 counters on 9-for-12 from the field. Joining him were Drew Haugstad, who put 23 points through the twine (5- for-8 from the 3-point line) and Kale Schmidt, who finished with 16 points after getting nine of them in the fourth quarter.
The end result of their efforts and those of their teammates was a solid 77-68 going away win.
Offensive assistance also came from Brock Reinecke with 8 points and Jordan Taylor with 2.
