Mountainside 67, Clackamas 56: Five Takeaways

<p>It's year two of full varsity basketball at Mountainside High School and you can tell that the Mavericks are on the rise. After only winning six total games a year ago, Mountainside has already matched that total and are looking for more. With everyone significant back from last season's team and the addition of some key transfers, the Mavericks are looking to compete with anybody - and that was clear with Mountainside's winning of their own tournament with a win over Clackamas on Saturday afternoon.</p> <p>The game was tight in the first half as neither team could sustain a big run and foul calls ruled the roost with Clackamas star junior forward <strong>Ben Gregg</strong> picking up three of them. Gregg didn't return in the second half due to injury and Mountainside was able to make a run. Senior guard <strong>Grayson Rowell</strong> got free for four threes and scored 14 points in the third and Mountainside took control. Clackamas battled the rest of the game but each time the Mavericks had an answer and they ended up pulling out a 67-56 victory.</p> <p>"That was a great team win," said Mountainside head coach Dustin Hewitt. "It would have been nice to play against their horse [Gregg] for the whole game but I'm really proud of my players."</p> <p>Rowell led the Mavericks with 19 points and <strong>Andrew Ingalls</strong> added 11 points and nine rebounds.  <strong>Ryan Lewis</strong> and <strong>Derek Di'Gregorio</strong> paced Clackamas with 13 points each.</p> <p><strong>Rowell One of the Top Shooters in the State?</strong></p> <p>Our call would be yes. When the senior gets open, has his feet set, and gets a clean catch, it's money from three-point range. Rowell's speciality is in the corners but against Clackamas he hit a couple from the wings as well. While it does take a little time for him to get off the shot due to a slower release, the rotation and arc on the ball are just about perfect. Rowell noted that he's hoping to play basketball at the college level and is looking at D-III programs such as Chapman and Lewis &amp; Clark and also has connections to possibly walk-on at Gonzaga.</p> <p>"When Grayson gets it going, the team knows to get him the rock and he lets it fly," Hewitt said. "He's streaky and when he got that many in a row going, that built us a comfortable lead where we could play with more confidence."</p> <p><strong>Mountainside is Deep</strong></p> <p>In their first game of the Mountainside Tournament on Friday, the Mavericks were led by Bennett Giebels, who came off the bench for his 22 points. On Saturday it was Rowell doing the damage. Mountainside has a deep group of players who could all potentially step up and lead the team in scoring when called upon. Seniors Connor McClean and Andrew Ingalls have done the job on the boards and on defense - those two and Giebels took turns guarding Ben Gregg when he was in the game - and ball-handlers such as Sammy Cohen and Nate Mouzong spearhead the offense. Last year's leading scorer Nzube Mekkam didn't play much against Clackamas but he is another athletic shot-maker and on-the-ball defender who can be called upon when needed.</p> <p>"It's nice to know that any night we can have any given guy score points," Hewitt said.</p> <p><strong>Mavs Diverse Offensively</strong></p> <p>Along with their depth, Mountainside can do different things on the offensive side of the ball. There's no question that Hewitt likes his team to shoot threes, but there are also guys who can post up inside (Ingalls), guys that can create off the dribble (Cohen, Mouzong), and those that can do a little bit of everything (McClean, Giebels). All of those traits were evident against Clackamas although when they needed the three-ball, Rowell more than provided that.</p> <p><strong>Clackamas More Than Gregg</strong></p> <p>There's no question that Ben Gregg is a special talent. But saddled with foul trouble in the first half and then out for the second with a self-report back injury, the Cavs needed to turn to other options - and they stepped up. Ryan Lewis is a versatile wing who plays with a good motor, and he fought hard on the offensive boards for some putback buckets. Junior Jack Dorn didn't shoot it really well (3-for-13) but he has a nice shot from the perimeter and can also create off the dribble. Point guard KJ Horsley really worked hard on defense (3 steals) and was steady handling the ball.  Providing some punch off the bench were seniors Derek Di'Gregorio (13 pts) and Daniel Mahler (10 points). Take away Rowell's shooting spree in the third quarter and the teams played about even.</p> <p><strong>Get Well Soon Ben</strong></p> <p>While Clackamas did alright without their star on the floor, don't be fooled - how well the Cavs do will certainly depend on having Gregg available and ideally at 100 percent. While we didn't see the exact circumstances, Gregg noted after the game that he hurt his back at some point in the first half and it seemed like everyone decided to err on the side of caution and have him sit out the rest of the game. Hopefully rest is what will be needed with the Les Schwab Invitational coming up and the anticipated first round matchup against Crater and star post Nate Bittle.</p>