Carel named MVP

Enumclaw High basketball fans made the northward pilgrimage to support their team when the Hornets took on Mount Rainier in the championship tilt at the Bellevue Community College Christmas Classic Dec. 30.

The Hornet faithful didn’t walk away disappointed, as EHS used a stingy defense to keep an athletic and aggressive Ram bunch at bay and win 60-57 to elevate its overall record to an untarnished 7-0.

“We were really fortunate to play a quick and opportunistic team like Mount Rainier in the championship game, because we are playing three league contests this week, and all three of these teams we are going against practically mimic the Rams’ style of play,” EHS coach Phil Engebretsen said.

Enumclaw will put its unbeaten 3-0 league mark on the line with three critical battles this week. The Hornets hosted Auburn Mountainview Tuesday night with the results coming too late to include here. The Hornets travel to Lakes High (3-0) Friday and will play a make-up game at 3 p.m. Saturday at Clover Park.

Engebretsen explained that claiming the hardware at the BCC hoop fest was a definite confidence builder for his junior-based squad.

“The Enumclaw fans came out in force for that championship game,” he said. “Having all those fans backing us provided quite a lift and winning the championship trophy really earned us a measure of respect and boosted our confidence tremendously, to sort of prepare us for this trying week ahead.”

Enumclaw’s junior ring leader Riley Carel was named Most Valuable Player of the winter classic and his fellow junior guard Coleman Clyde is becoming a legitimate offensive weapon as he poured in 18 points in the Mount Rainier clash and averaged a dozen points in each of the trio of contests EHS played en route to earning champion accolades. Currently, Hornet cagers Jayson Lewis, Carel and Taylor Myers are averaging 11-plus points in the team’s seven contests.

Reach John Leggett at jleggett@courierherald.com or 360-802-8207.