ARLINGTON — Arlington clicked on all cylinders in the first half, but Lake Stevens came alive and took control after halftime to earn a 72-70 comeback win in Arlington’s gym.

The difference between the Vikings’ first and second-half performances were night and day.

“Their coach got them fired up,” Arlington head coach Nick Brown said. “We were flat defensively and gave up a 14-point run (in the third quarter).”

Eagle senior guard Marcus Bryson scored nine of his 12 points off of three three-pointers in the game’s opening minutes. Junior post Dan Boyden, who finished with 13 points on the night, connected on a tip-in to put Arlington out to an 11-4 lead.

Lake Stevens survived the Eagles’ early scoring streak, however, by pulling down offensive rebounds and keeping their possessions alive, even as taller Arlington players helped over on defense.

Arlington senior post Bo Brummel and junior guard Terry Dawn both hit a pair of free throws to put Arlington up 15-7. Two more Dawn free throws made it 17-7 at the end of the first quarter.

Bryson and Eagle senior guard Conner Davis hit a three-pointer each to put the Eagles up 23-16. Dawn cleaned up a rebound in front of the basket and put it back for two points and a 25-19 advantage.

Lake Stevens would not fold. They held steady in the rebounding battle and hit enough shots to keep stride.

The Eagles led 27-21 after Terry Dawn was fouled while rolling to the basket and converted the complementary free throw.

Lake Stevens hit a triple to cut it close at 28-26.

Senior post D.J. Smith sank a tip-in in front of the basket and Dawn cruised to the basket for a layup over a Viking defender who took an unsuccessful charge. Dawn hit a midrange bucket from the left moments later for a narrow 34-30 lead.

Lake Stevens blocked Arlington’s buzzer-beater attempt as time expired to trail only 34-30 at the half.

Viking junior guard Jared Rahn hit a three-pointer right out of halftime to pull his team to 34-33. Lake Stevens collected quick baskets to force Arlington, trailing for the first time at 37-34 in the third quarter, to call a timeout.

Lake Stevens junior guard Devin Stoen’s jump shot and a Viking three-pointer on the next possession forced another Eagle timeout with a 42-34 Viking advantage.

Brummel cut left across the key for an uncontested layup off of an Arlington entry pass from the baseline. Stoen returned the favor by cutting behind Arlington’s defenders who helped stop the strong side penetration.

Boyden hit a shot from the middle of the key. Brummel muscled up and scored in the post with two defenders on him to put the Eagles back within 10 points at 50-40.

Arlington pushed the ball into the post while Lake Stevens began to run and gun to put the Eagles away, but the Eagles weren’t done.

Dawn hit a three from top of the arc and sophomore guard Gavin Smoke hit an open three of his own from the right when Arlington swung the ball around the perimeter to catch the defense that sagged down on Brummel off balance.

The Vikings led 58-48 to end the third quarter.

Boyden hit a jumper from the free throw line and Dawn hit one of two free throws and connected on a low-post power shot, but Stoen hit a jumper from the top of the key to put his team up 64-54 with 5:25 to go.

Smoke hit a three from the top of the line, but Stoen put on a show with a pump fake and a layup.

Dawn retaliated with a strong scoop-and-score down the lane and a three-pointer on the Eagles’ next trip down the floor. The score was 70-62 Lake Stevens after Dawn hit another pair of free throws with 2:32 left.

Brummel backed his man down, spun and hit a low-post shot to pull within five at 70-65.

Lake Stevens missed a three-pointer, Arlington grabbed the rebound and Dawn was fouled on a put-back. He sank two free throws and Arlington trailed 70-67 with 1:10 left.

Arlington had to foul to stop the clock with 40 seconds left. The Vikings missed the 1-and-1 free throw and Arlington hurried to look for a shot, but head coach Nick Brown called timeout with 18 seconds remaining.

Dawn missed from downtown with 4.6 seconds to go and had to foul to stop the clock. The Vikings hit two free throws for a 72-67 lead. He sank a buzzer-beating three-pointer for his 30th point of the night, however, as Lake Stevens, up by more than three and seeking to avoid a foul, backed off to the other end of the court to solidify the win.

“We went flat defensively and got away from the things we wanted to do,” Brown said. “They had an answer for everything we did. I thought we had a good shot to win at the end, but it didn’t work out.”