High School Sports
Brockman lifts Panthers

By Michael Ko
Seattle Times staff reporter

JIM BATES / THE SEATTLE TIMES Jon Brockman of Snohomish slams home two points against Bartlett of Anchorage, Alaska.

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With his team down 10-5 midway through a sloppy first quarter, Snohomish coach Len Bone stood up, looked at his players and shouted from the bench, "What's wrong with running some offense?"

The Panthers took that message to heart, ripping off a 19-0 run and then holding off Kansas-bound Mario Chalmers long enough to beat Bartlett from Anchorage, Alaska, 56-50 at yesterday's Les Schwab Hoop Challenge at Seattle Pacific University.

"Bartlett's a good team and they're well known," said Jon Brockman, who led Snohomish (2-2) with 29 points and 10 rebounds. "Once we got out there and we realized we could play with these guys and it wasn't going to be a blowout, I think we just got more comfortable."

The 6-foot-2 Chalmers, one of the top prep point guards in the country, led the Golden Bears (0-1) with 21 points. He also had eight of Bartlett's 13 steals.

Chalmers and the rest of Bartlett's perimeter players pressured Snohomish all afternoon, forcing the Panthers into 19 turnovers.

"They're quick and we're not used to that kind of quickness," Bone said.

But the Panthers nonetheless gamely slogged forward and eventually delivered the ball inside to Brockman, the 6-foot-8 force headed to Washington.

Brockman powered his way to 12 baskets, most of them layups, and caused havoc underneath. Bartlett's biggest interior defender, 6-4 David Williams, fouled out with 7:08 left to play.

The third quarter provided the Brockman-Chalmers highlight show many wanted to see. On one play, Brockman snagged a rebound with his right hand, took off upcourt, slipped past the pressure with a slick behind-the-back dribble and scored a layup on a give-and-go.
 
Chalmers scored 10 points in the quarter on a variety of equally impressive moves, including one when he drove left-handed toward the basket and quickly spun right for the layup.

Bartlett coach Ronnie Chalmers, Mario's father, said some players on his team had butterflies. It was the first game of the season and only two players returned from last year's 24-2 Alaska 4A runner-up squad. He also said four of his players stayed at home because of eligibility issues.

Michael Ko: 206-515-5653 or mko@seattletimes.com