MARYSVILLE After watching the junior varsity Tomahawks dispatch of the visiting Cascade Bruins 64-48 behind the 15 points of junior Blake Lovell, the varsity Tommies kept the goose egg in the league win column for their opponents.
The 69-56 Wesco North victory improved M-P to 4-2 in league play and 8-2 overall while the Bruins dropped to 0-6, 2-8 Friday, Jan. 5, at the Jim Linden Fieldhouse.
Both teams came out firing on all cylinders en route to a 15-13 M-P first quarter advantage and 29-25 halftime edge.
Seniors Nathan Lozeau and Sean Moser opened up the game with hoops to give the home team a 4-0 lead before the Bruins hit back-to-back three-pointers.
The 6-4 Cascade lead didnt last long as senior Nate Holthenrichs drained a trey for an 11-8 lead.
Cascade tied the game at 11-all with another three-pointer, but Holthenrichs rattled off four points to give the Tommies a two-point cushion after the first eight minutes of play.
With the entire M-P cheer team and a relatively small, yet vocal student section cheering them on, the Tomahawks opened the second quarter on a 7-0 run.
As the Bruins called a timeout to try and slow the pace down, the M-P band played the theme to Pop goes the weasel.
Continuining the high-powered game of momentum, Cascade responded with a 7-0 run of their own to make it a 22-20 ballgame.
Coach Bary Gould called a timeout with 4:31 until halftime and saw Lozeau and classmate Jared Stohl combine for seven points to Cascades three to take a 29-25 lead into the locker room.
Lozeau led the Tommies with 19 points and both Stohl and Holthenrichs added 14 apiece.
Sophomore guard Ryan Lanphere and Holthenrichs added a two and three-pointer, respectively, but Cascade matched it stride for stride en route to a 34-all tie.
After the teams again locked up at 39-alll, M-P broke free to end the quarter with a 50-42 advantage that was capped by a thundering dunk by the 6-foot-10 inch Lozeau.
The student run M-PHS TV3 crew narrated and filmed the Wesco North battle and despite the game-high 23-point performance of senior Cascade guard Dirk Snel, the Bruins never got closer than 11 points in the final frame.
He (Snel) is a heck of a player, Gould said of the 6-foot-2 inch guard. He is the leading scorer in the league and definitely a special player.
M-P put the final nail in Cascades coffin with a 13-3 run and went on to cruise to a 69-56 win.
Gould said one of the highlights of the game was the perfect 11-for-11 performance from the free-throw line.
The latest hero to step up their play was Fridrich and his career-high eight points.
Players chanted his name throughout the locker room after Goulds post game speech.
He had a great breakout game. He has been working his butt off in practice and I tell all of the guys that that will be rewarded. He said it felt great to be a key contributor.

At M-PHS

Cascade 13 12 17 14 56
M-P 15 14 21 19 59

Cascade McGrath 11, Benson 8, Snel 23, Wilkins 5, Reading 9. M-P Holm 2, Stohl 14, Fridrich 8, Holthenrichs 14, Stell 2, Moser 2, Lozeau 19. 3-point goals McGrath 3, Benson 2, Snel 4, Reading 1, Stohl 1, Fridrich 2, Holthenrichs 2, Lozeau 1. Records Cascade 0-6 in league play and 2-8 overall. M-P 4-2, 8-2.