LONGVIEW – Success is about the little things.
For the Mark Morris boys basketball team, that meant getting up on time Saturday.
After playing Woodland on Friday night, Mark Morris coach Bill Bakamus didn’t want his players sleeping until an hour before Saturday’s 1:30 p.m. tip-off against Ridgefield. So he had his players text him when they woke up.
“I said by 9 o’clock,” Bakamus said. “A couple of texts came in at like 9:08. They said they were in the shower, which I know isn’t true.”
But once they were on the court Saturday, the Monarchs answered the call, jumping out to big lead early and cruising to a 71-38 rout of Ridgefield.
“We just came out with more energy than they did,” senior Braydon Olson said. “We locked in on defense, which got us in position to get some defensive rebounds, which allowed us to transition really well.”
Olson scored 23 of his game-high 32 points in the first half as the Monarchs built a 42-22 halftime lead.
The Monarchs were playing their second game in two nights, beating Woodland 67-46 on Friday night.
Before that Mark Morris hadn’t played since Jan. 8, but the Monarchs were able to stay sharp with good attendance during optional practices over the no-school days because of the weather.
“There was no pressure on them to come,” Bakamus said. “We told them to take their time and get here when they can. We had snow like everyone else. But once they got here, they mad a concerted effort to practice the right way.”
The Ridgefield Spudders couldn’t practice in any way. Saturday’s game was the first time the Spudders had been on the court together since Jan. 11.
“I don’t know if it would have made any difference in the result,” Ridgefield coach Jason Buffum. “But it would have made a difference is us being more competitive. It’s tough on the kids.”
Instead, Olson got the Monarchs going quickly, scoring 13 points of Mark Morris’ 21 points in the first quarter.
“Last night, we didn’t play our best,” Olson said. “It was more like getting our feet under us. We haven’t played in two weeks. (Today), we got back more on track, and we took it to a really good team. And I think we prove a point (today).”
Dalton Stevens scored 18 points for Mark Morris, which his 11 3-pointers. Cole Chester had 15 to lead Ridgefield.
The win was Mark Morris’ seventh straight in 2A GSHL play, helping the Monarchs (10-5, 9-1) extend their lead over second-place Columbia River to two games. Ridgefield (9-5) fell to 7-3 in league.
“We’re just trying to keep them focused on the task at hand,” Bakamus said. “We want to win the league. That’s important to these kids. And a game like this afternoon is really important in trying to get there. I would just give all the credit to them. They’ve bought in. They’ve been here. We just need to stay steady.”
MARK MORRIS 71, RIDGEFIELD 38
RIDGEFIELD — Colton Warren 2, Cole Chester 15, Jamison McCann 7, Colton Castro 4, Jack Hughes 10, Kemp Fisher 0, Drew Krsul 0, Mason Curran 0, Dylan Johnson 0. Totals 15 (5) 3-6 38.
MARK MORRIS — Trenton Lamb 1, Drew Ibarretta 2, Nathan Stephens 3, Malakai Gray 3, Braydon Olson 32, Beau Jensen 0, Dalton Stevens 18, Jadyn Jenkins 4, Nash Bjorge 5, Dossen Morrow 3, Mac West 0. Totals 26 (11) 8-11 71.
Ridgefield 9 13 11 4—38
Mark Morris 21 21 11 18—71
