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Glacier Peak faced its biggest test of the season.

Down by 15 points in the third quarter against Mariner, the Grizzlies staged an epic comeback to pull out a thrilling 55-49 victory in a battle between the Wesco 4A’s top two boys basketball teams Monday, Jan. 27, at Glacier Peak High School.

The Grizzlies (12-0 in the league, 18-0 overall) kept their cool after coach Brian Hunter called a timeout when the Marauders 10-2, 15-3) extended their 24-18 first-quarter lead to 36-21 with just under four minutes left in the third quarter.

“I really feel like the guys just kind of stuck together,” Hunter said. “We talked about it in a timeout. We just needed to make one play at a time and you can’t get this whole thing back at once. It’s going to take some time.”

“But if you can string some possessions together … we wanted to see what would happen.”

By the end of the third period, Glacier Peak cut the deficit to 11 points – 38-29. The Grizzlies kept chipping away at the start of the fourth quarter. Mariner still held a 45-38 lead midway through the period when Glacier Peak used a 10-2 run that was capped by a 3-pointer by sophomore Bobby Siebers to seize a 48-47 lead with 1:34 left in the contest.

Junior Tucker Molina found his teammate for the go-ahead basket.

“I trusted him. I trust all my teammates to shoot whenever they’re open,” said Molina, who led the Grizzlies with 23 points. “It was pretty big. It put us up. It probably won the game.”

Siebers was expecting the ball.

“They were doubling everything,” he said. “So when I was open, I called Tucker’s name. He just kicked it out. I believed in my shot and it went in.”

The Marauders turned the ball over on their next two offensive possessions and the Grizzlies made five of eight free throws in the final 37.7 seconds to seal the victory. Glacier Peak outscored Mariner 26-11 in the fourth quarter.

Hunter said that he was glad to have a close game like Monday’s in preparation for the postseason. The Grizzlies have won all but two of their 18 games by double digits and some of the margins of victories have been 20 or more points.

“We need games like this,” Hunter said. “We need to be put in adverse situations to see what happens. You can practice things all you want. But that environment is a different deal for everyone. So it’s hopefully something we can use later on because the games from here on out are all tough. … It’s definitely something we’ll fall back on and use as the season progresses.”

For much of the game, the Marauders had the advantage and the lead. Mariner held Glacier Peak to a season-low 18 points in the first half while putting up 24. A 12-3 run enabled the Marauders to take the 36-21 lead midway through the third quarter.

Mariner coach Tevin Dillon said he knew the game wasn’t over and that Glacier Peak would try to battle back.

“This is a team that doesn’t go away,” he said. “I’ve seen it for years. I’ve seen them play against other teams. They don’t just go away.”

Glacier Peak senior Brayden Quantrille finished with 16 points. Senior Tony MacArthur led the Marauders with 11 points and Henry Avra added 10.

The two teams will face each other in the regular-season finale Tuesday, Feb. 11, at Mariner High School.

“Games are long, and we pride ourselves on playing until the very end,” Hunter said. “I think tonight was a situation where the guys learned that they can do that.”