In the case of the M-P boys basketball team, perhaps ignorance really is bliss. Entering their Tuesday, Dec. 5 non-league game against the Kamiak Knights the Seattle Times had them ranked No. 2 in the state, but coach Bary Gould said neither he nor his team were aware of the ranking beforehand.
Obviously you have to prove people either right or wrong, he said of the high expectations heaped on the 2006-07 team.
M-P uncharacteristically didnt make a single three-pointer and was held nearly 20 points under their average, but held off a late Knight rally for a 51-47 victory at the Jim Linden Fieldhouse.
The Tommies improved to 3-0 on the season and Kamiak dropped to 0-2 with the loss.
Senior center Nathan Lozeau led the team offensively with 14 points, classmate Jared Stohl had 12 but perhaps more importantly forward Sean Moser poured in eight and key rebounds in the final minute of play.
M-P shot 50 percent (7-for-14) from the free throw line while the Knights were 6-for-9.
The Tomahawks seemed to have the game under control after leading 10-4 after the first quarter and 29-19 at halftime, but Kamiaks defense intensified in the final 16-minutes of play.
M-P led 39-28 entering the fourth quarter and neither team could penetrate the opposing defense for the first three minutes when the Knights cut the lead to 39-30.
A combination of effective Knight defense and an off night offensively led to one of their lowest point totals in years.
Lozeau, Moser and fellow senior Ricky Holm contributed baskets for the Tommies, but the Knights were relentless and finally took the lead 44-43 with approximately 90 seconds remaining in the contest.
After Kamiak knotted the score at 47-all M-P called a timeout with 32 ticks on the clock.
Holm took the inbounds pass and missed a layup, but Moser was right behind him for the put back.
Leading 49-47 with 3.1 seconds left Kamiak just missed a 3-point attempt and Moser was sent back to the free throw line after being fouled on the inbounds.
The 6-foot-3 inch multi-sport athlete went 1-for-2 at the line to make it 50-47, and then sealed the deal by grabbing his own rebound and sinking another 1-for-2 at the line with 1.7 seconds left.
A happy coach Gould praised the efforts of Moser afterward.
He really stepped up and was the hero tonight, he said of Moser.
Gould said he compared his team at halftime to that of a wolf the strength of the wolf is in the pack, the strength of the pack is in the wolf.
The M-P junior varsity also won, defeating Kamiak JV 48-38.