MARYSVILLE — By the time senior guard Nick Soriano scored his first three-point basket against Cascade, the Tomahawks were already up 15-11.
So while there were a few early lead changes in the Dec. 9 game, neither the first nor the next six of Soriano’s three-pointers came at a critical time to the Tomahawks. It was just an excellent performance in a very good team effort as M-P defeated Cascade 75-57. Soriano had 23 points, matching the effort of Cascade star Chris McGrath.
Three more Tomahawks scored in double figures and every player on the roster added at least two points. It would be a pleasant surprise for this “no name” Tomahawk team to score almost 20 points per quarter every game, but head coach Bary Gould isn’t building his game plan around it.
“Soriano was on fire,” he said. “He was feeling the tingle.”
McGrath was hitting shots from around the court, but while Cascade’s 14- and 20-point efforts in the first half were nothing to sneeze at, they couldn’t quite hold up to the 20 and 22 points M-P put on the board. The Tomahawks always seemed to have an answer for anything the Bruins did.
Senior forward Troy Toler helped M-P match Cascade shot for shot with nine of his 11 points in the first half. Seven guys scored at least once before the break. M-P only slowed down a little coming back in the third quarter with Soriano providing half the team’s 16 points in the period.
Seniors Tyler Holm and Nick Soriano chipped in 12 and 14 points for the Tomahawks.
While Soriano said he hopes to have the hot hand for Marysville this season, he just wants to see plenty of time on the court after limited minutes off the bench last year.
“It’s just nice to play after being in the system,” he said.