NCS boys basketball: Montgomery steps up defense in 47-40 win against Washington of Fremont

There may be a different guy in the coach’s chair at Montgomery High these days, but the Vikings’ fortunes still begin and end with defense. Tuesday night, that was especially true in the beginning and the ending.

Montgomery held visiting Washington of Fremont without a field goal for the first 6:45 of the game and made up for its own scoring drought over much of the final quarter with solid defense down the stretch, pulling out a 47-40 victory in the first round of the North Coast Section Division 2 playoffs.

“We really stress defense,” first-year coach Zac Tiedeman said. “We always have when Coach (Tom) Fitchie was here, and we do now that I’m here. We know that when you play defense you’re gonna give yourself a chance, no matter if you’re shooting well or not shooting well.”

Fitchie, who coached at Montgomery for 31 years, was in attendance as Tiedeman, his former star player, coached his first playoff game. It wasn’t a thing of beauty, but the Vikings rebounded well and knocked down shots when they had to.

Senior guard Lane Young led Montgomery (16-11) with 17 points, including three 3-pointers in the first quarter that turned a 2-2 tie into an 11-4 lead that the home team would never relinquish. In fact, Washington never led in the game.

The Vikings scored just seven points in the fourth period, and just two points over the final 4:55 of the game. Senior forward Joel Seitz missed the front ends?of two one-and-ones in the last minute. It was vaguely reminiscent of Montgomery’s preceding game, in which the Vikings led 47-40 (does that score look familiar?) heading into the fourth quarter but ultimately lost to Cardinal Newman in the semifinals of the North Bay League tournament.

Tiedeman said the Washington game was different.

“I think in the Newman game we lost rhythm altogether on offense,” the 27-year-old coach said. “I think today we didn’t score as much in the fourth because the last two or three minutes, strategy-wise, we tried to lengthen the game by lengthening our possessions.”

The Vikings’ defensive intensity was enough to get the job done. The visiting Huskies outscored Monty 13-7 in final period, but didn’t make a field goal over the final 4:15. Their last six points came on free throws.

Montgomery’s key run came at the end of the third quarter. Tiedeman’s team couldn’t shake Washington (14-13) and led just 35-27 with a minute left in that period. But junior Ryan Merriken hit a couple free throws, and with the game clock approaching zeroes, junior Bryce Burroughs banked in a 3-pointer for his only points of the game.

When guard Evan Poulson drilled a 3-pointer 1:15 into the fourth quarter, it pushed the Vikings’ lead to 43-27. That was plenty in this slow-paced contest.

Monty’s defensive star Tuesday was senior swingman Hayden Lee. He drew the assignment of guarding senior Mikai Stewart, Washington’s leading scorer. Stewart finished with nine points and never went on a run.

Lee and Seitz each scored eight points for Montgomery, while senior power forward Christian Davis grabbed eight rebounds. Senior Felipe Marasigan led the Huskies with 13 points.

Montgomery’s reward for a hard-fought win? A rematch against No. 1 seed Windsor, a team that went 14-0 in the NBL and hasn’t lost in 2016. The Jaguars beat the Vikings twice this year. But the second of those two games, Feb. 8 at Montgomery, was a tight one. Windsor won 40-38.

“Last time we gave them a run for their money,” Lee said. “We know they’re a more solid team than us. But if we go into that game thinking we can win, I think we can do it. I think the biggest part is not taking any plays off. They can kind of get on a roll.”

The Vikings weren’t perfect in the first round. But they didn’t take plays off, and that was good enough to get them to the quarterfinals.