By Rick Martin, KCWH radio 102.3/101.7 fm

MOUNT SHASTA – Mt. Shasta knew what it wanted to do against visiting Anderson in Wednesday’s NSCIF Division-IV boys basketball playoff opener:

“Get off to a fast start and not let a team like that hang around in your gym, thinking they might have a chance to win,” said coach Kirk Andrus prior to the game.

Mission accomplished…again. The Bears (17-8) sprinted out to a 13-0 lead in the first five minutes, and cruised to a 66-48 win to move into the second round Friday night at 3rd-seeded Central Valley. Mount Shasta has now won six straight games down the stretch.

Jake Padula got the scoring started with a three on the Bears’ opening possession, and Eric Thelander followed with one of his own on the next trip down the floor. A Gene Kenyon basket and a Tim Jaegel free throw pushed the lead to 9-0, and Anderson coach Larry Newman quickly called timeout. It didn’t matter. The Cubs (8-19) missed a shot and committed a turnover on their next two possessions. Mount Shasta responded with baskets each time to make it 13-0.

The Cubs finally got on the board with 3:20 left in the quarter on a three-ball from Garrett Greenshaw, but Mount Shasta would score the next seven points before the Cubs found the net again.

It was 20-5 after the opening quarter, and Mount Shasta never looked back, keeping Anderson at arms’ length the rest of the night. Twice, the Cubs got as close as 11, and each time the Bears responded with a mini-run to stop the momentum from shifting.

“I thought we let up a little bit when we got a big lead,” said Andrus. “We’ll have to play a lot better – and with more focus – on Friday. But overall we played well, did what we needed to do.”

The big lead gave Andrus the luxury of using his bench liberally, allowing the starters to rest, and letting some of his reserve players get some valuable court time in a playoff atmosphere. Shane Freeman poured in a career-high 14 points, including a pair of three-point plays in the second half. Andrew Campbell added four points off the bench, while playing steady defense; and Austin Herrick and Brad Thomas played extended minutes.

It was also a wide-open game, with Andrus letting the Bears play the game as it came to them, rather than calling set plays.

“We were playing well, and I knew CV was here scouting,” he said with a smile after the game. “They weren’t going to see any of our sets tonight. They can wait until Friday, and they’ll see a much different team than the one they saw in December.”

Padula led the Bears with 15 points on the night, while Thelander scored 12 and Jaegel added 11. Anderson was led by Jeff Catron’s 23 points, and a 10-spot from Zach Gubergia. Anderson hit only one three on the night, after knocking down eight in the teams’ first meeting – also won by Mount Shasta – in December.

Friday night’s trip to Central Valley will be a rematch as well. The Falcons beat the Bears 48-39 in OT back on Dec. 1. It also marks the third straight year the teams will meet in the post-season. The Falcons eliminated the Bears in the second round in 2008, while Mount Shasta returned the favor in the first round last year.

“We’ll go back to work and try to do Friday night what we couldn’t do in that first game: finish,” said Andrus. “We’re playing really well right now, but I’m still not sure these guys know how good they can be.”

He hopes it’s good enough to get the Bears another week of basketball.