MARYSVILLE — Grace Academy boys coach Scott Carlin has been telling senior Garrett Weinberg to keep shooting since tryouts.

“I think he’s starting to get it,” Carlin said. “When you’ve got a kid that can shoot the ball like that at this level, you have to go to him.”

Weinberg showed his scoring ability Dec. 8, with 20 points in Grace’s 31-19 win over Highland Christian.

“It was an ugly win, but it’s early,” said Carlin, whose team is 2-1 this season. “I was impressed with Highland Christian. They were a lot stronger than I thought they’d be.”

Weinberg, Northwest 1B’s only all-conference returner, connected on three of his four three-pointers for 15 points in the first half, helping the Eagles earn a 19-10 lead at halftime.

Grace spoiled Highland Christian’s season-opener, running a 1-3-1, full-court press that exposed the Knights’ inexperience.

“I kind of thought that they’d run that press,” said Highland Christian coach Bobby Griffin, who’s roster consists of seven players. “But our guys haven’t been able to practice 5-on-5 so this was our first look at something like that at full speed.”

Leading the Knights was junior Calvin Wold, who scored 15 points and grabbed 14 rebounds

Grace was able to capitalize on its depth to outrun Highland, and found talent in unexpected places in the form of 5’6” freshman guard Mitchel Elvrom.

“We’re going to see more of him this season,” Carlin said. “He’s just a spark plug with some good basketball skills. Once he gets his confidence, he will be quite a guard in this league.”

Elvrom showed his defensive ability and ball-handling skill during the middle quarters against Highland, limiting turnovers and causing a few of his own.

“He played well in an important game,” said Carlin, who went 1-2 against Highland last season with three games being decided by a combined total of seven points, “Playing Highland is — if we beat them (in the season series), we consider the season a success.”