Hard edge of Mount Si boys basketball has returned just in time, 3 takeaways

In an uneven season filled with injuries and emotional flatlines, the defending 4A champions find a much-needed giddy-up in regional win at Auburn

Brady Hennig and defending Class 4A champion Mount Si go directly to next week's WIAA quarterfinals with regional win at Auburn. / Photo by Todd Milles

AUBURN, Wash. - Defending Class 4A boys basketball champion Mount Si might have just awoken at the right tension-filled time.

Surviving an awful start in a raucous visiting gymnasium, the seventh-seeded Wildcats stormed back to flip the script on No. 2 seed and host Auburn, 56-50, in the regional round of the WiAA playoffs Saturday night.

Brady Hennig topped all scorers with 18 points, including four free throws in the final 12.5 seconds to preserve the comeback win. Drenden Knaevelsrud added 13 points, and Chase Mentink - who began the season at Auburn before moving north - had 11 points.

Mount Si was without standout guard Lattimore Ford, who will miss the rest of the postseason with a knee injury.

Auburn sank its first five field goals and jumped out to a 10-0 lead before going into a deep sleep from the floor. The Trojans then made just 13 of their final 54 shots, including a scoreless second quarter in which they missed all 16 field-goal attempts.

"Our kids knew we had a mountain to climb, and they executed our game plan perfectly from about two minutes left in the first quarter for the rest of the game," Mount Si boys coach Json Griffith said.

Here are three takeaways from the Mount Si-Auburn boys game:

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CHASE MENTINK BALLS OUT

Right about now, the Wildcats are sure glad to have Mentink in the fold.

Coming off the bench when Mount Si trailed big early, he scored his team's first three points while taking onthe defensive assignment of Auburn's best player - guard Carter Hansen, his ex-backocurt mate.

Mentink was able to settle his new team into a better groove at the end of the first quarter, getting Hennig cranked up as well. Mentink finished with five assists to go a long with his 11 points.

And he also gave his team an emotional lift with his usual hustle, grit and - in this once-in-a-lifetime instance - dogged determination to lead new past old.

"He is probably in his head thinking, 'This is my game to show this is my new school,'" Hennig said. "He came out with a chip on his shoulder and he is a big reason why we won."

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THEN THINGS GOT WEIRD

Late in the third quarter, as Daniel Johnson was preparing to convert a three-point play for Auburn, the game came to a screeching halt on a scoring dispute.

The scoreboard read 38-32 (which was correct), but the official scorer had it 36-32.

Officials took a lengthy delay to review the scorebook, then inquired if the visiting scorer had something different. Meanwhile, the delay caused jeering among the crowd.

Finally, the officials went with what the official scorer had - and changed it to 36-32 on the scoreboard.

"I've been coaching 25 years, and have never seen anything like that," Griffith said.

Later in the second half, the scoreboard was changed again, giving Mount Si an additional point.

Fortunately, it did not matter by the end of the game when Auburn had the ball, trailing 52-50 with 20 seconds remaining. The Trojans never got a shot off, instead turning it over.

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AUBURN WAS FIRE AND ICE

Early on, it seemed as if Auburn was going to turn this game into a blowout early.

But the Wildcats went to a box-and-one defense to take Carter Hansen out of the scoring equation, and the Trojans settled for jump shots - and missed them. They were held without a field goal for nearly 11 minutes, including the entire second quarter.

"Over the last four or five games, we’ve become a grittier, tougher team," Griffith said. "Our identify is on defense a little bit more."

Carter Hansen was held to three points, and missed both shots from the floor.

"It was a weird game," Auburn boys coach Ryan Hansen said.

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