Auburn Mountainview boys basketball coach Thomas Ostrander preaches a simple mantra: play strong defense and execute on offense.

And when his Lions are successful in both phases, they make the game look easy.

That again was the case Tuesday as Auburn Mountainview returned to South Puget Sound League 3A play with its most lopsided victory of the season, 72-28, at Lakes.

One statistic that stood out during the first half, as the Lions built a 42-11 lead at intermission, was turnover ratio. Auburn Mountainview had a 12-2 advantage in that category through the opening 16 minutes.

“Possession in any game is huge,” said Ostrander, praising senior point guard Robbie Wilson’s leadership on the court. “You don’t give yourself an opportunity to score if you turn the ball over.”

But that was not the only reason why the Lions (10-0 overall, 5-0 league) dominated the contest. Consider that Auburn Mountainview converted 5-of-11 3-pointers, while the Lancers were just 2 of 14 from beyond the arc.

“We played really, really good team basketball,” said senior guard Ryan Lacey, who scored a game-high 23 points. “We moved the ball around. We passed up good shots for great shots. It’s something we do together really well because we’ve played together for so long.”

Lacey is among eight seniors on the Lions’ roster, and he played football with several of them during the fall. That has bred familiarity among the players, but Lacey said the team’s chemistry is even better since the Lions played in a tournament Dec. 28-30 in Ketchikan, Alaska.

“Team chemistry was a big thing. Hanging out with the same guys for five days straight, you really bond,” said Lacey, adding that the team did some sightseeing of the town and visited scenic viewpoints during the trip. “That always plays well on the court when you can trust each other. When you can trust each other on the court, that opens everything up.”

Ostrander, who is in his second year at Auburn Mountainview, agreed that the experience was beneficial.

“I think we learned a lot about each other,” he said. “We got to spend a lot of time together, and we just improved. We’re excited to take that into the rest of league play.”

That started with Lakes (4-7, 2-3). Ostrander said he wanted his team to contain standout Lancers’ guard Rakeem Hughey, who was limited to five points. The Lions used multiple defenders on Hughey, but senior Ki’Jan Weisinger handled most of the duties.

“He’s a lock-down defender,” Ostrander said of Weisinger.

Auburn Mountainview will need more of that as the Lions host Peninsula (10-0, 5-0) at 7 p.m. Friday in a showdown for first place in the SPSL 3A.

Elsewhere

At Peninsula 62, Auburn Riverside 42: The Ravens struggled to contain future Oregon State guard JaQuori McLaughlin, who was among four Peninsula players to score in double figures. Quintin Bethea’s 16 points led Auburn Riverside (7-4, 3-2).

Sumner 62, at Auburn 59: Malik Williams and Tyler Pray combined for 39 points, but the Trojans’ rally fell short in an SPSL 3A contest. Patreon Lee also added 11 points for Auburn (7-3, 2-2). Seth Carnahan’s 16 points led Sumner (6-3, 1-3).