Sports
Sumner Takes Down Lindbergh 59-39
After a tough first half, the Spartans came back strong and dominated Lindbergh with strong defense and second half-shooting.
In the first half, Sumner could not seem to make anything. In the second, that all changed quickly.
Sumner used a dominating third quarter to pull away from Lindbergh and went on to win 59-39 in the final game of the sub-district 2A tournament on Saturday afternoon at Foster High School in Tukwila.
“We started out strong physically and we played really well, we just couldn’t put the ball in the hole,” Sumner head coach Brett McDaniel said.
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The Spartans started slow and Lindbergh took advantage of the poor Sumner shooting to take an early lead. The Spartans missed eight three-pointers in the first quarter alone, as the Eagles jumped out to a 24-22 halftime lead.
But Sumner found its shooting touch in the third quarter and ripped off an 18-7 run that allowed it to take control. The Spartans outscored Lindbergh 37-15 in the second half.
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“Our kids really picked it up, started making shots and got confidence from that,” McDaniel said.
Zeb Glissmeyer scored 20 points to lead Sumner, while Dwayne Browne and Diondre Toms each scored 12 to lead Lindbergh.
For Sumner, the win is its eighth in the last 10 games, its only two losses coming to the top two teams in the SPSL 2A, Fife and Clover Park. The Spartans were slowed by inexperience early in the year (the team features just one senior and starts five juniors), but McDaniel said his team has found its identity and peaking at the right time.
“Early in the season, I think we were trying too hard to be perfect,” McDaniel said. “But as the season progressed [the team] let the game slow down for them and now we’re just reacting rather than thinking.”
Sumner will put its impressive streak on the line against Port Angeles, the number-seven seed out of the Olympic league on Wednesday at 8 pm at Foss High school. Despite being a ten-seed, McDaniel said he is confident in his teams chances to advance.
“I feel really good about the way we’re playing,” McDaniel said. “We’re playing our best basketball at the time of the year we had asked [the team] to.”