LAKEWOOD — Coach Matt Hart’s boys likely spent the holidays knowing exactly what to work on.

The Cougars were caught off guard by the Mariners in a 55-43 nonconference defeat Dec. 20.

The culprit was a full-court zone that trapped a young Lakewood hoops squad into few shots and 28 turnovers.

“We’ve seen presses, but not that kind and not for so long,” said Hart. “And (Sehome) did a really good job with sending five guys to attack all over the court.”

It took Lakewood almost two quarters to begin to avoid the trapping areas and bring the ball up the court effectively, but by then Sehome had a 22-8 advantage.

The Cougars closed out the second quarter behind senior Tre Haslom, who scored 11 of his game-high 17 points — including a buzzer-beating 3-pointer — in three minutes to help Lakewood cut into the lead and make the score 29-23 at halftime.

In the second half, the Cougars switched to a 1-3-1 zone and took advantage of poor Sehome shooting, but turnovers resumed from the Mariners’ press to offset that, resulting in a 44-32 deficit by the end of the third quarter.

Junior forward Dustin Stanton scored 15 points and pulled down a game-high nine rebounds.

While this was clearly a frustrating game for the Cougars, who shot 32 percent, Hart said it was a needed experience to help his boys prepare for Cascade Conference play.

The loss knocks the Cougars to 2-5 overall and 1-2 in league play. Coming into the game Lakewood had won two consecutive games, but now will spend winter break with a clear idea of what needs work.

“Being disciplined enough to break the press and getting the shot we want are what we will be doing,” Hart said. “They aren’t necessarily exclusive, but they were tonight.”