When the final seconds ticked away in Mariner High School’s boys basketball game against Arlington on Jan. 5, Bayek Tutlam was swarmed by fans after scoring a team-high of 34 points.

Despite his performance, the Marauders had lost the game 60 to 54. They were 0-12 at the time.

“It was good to know I had scored that many points, but at the same time, we lost,” said Tutlam, junior shooting guard. “It was kind of a bittersweet feeling.”

The Marauders’ latest defeat at the hands of Lake Stevens on Friday knocked their record to 0-15. Sitting in last place in the WESCO South conference, Tutlam points to a lack of focus to details as a reason behind the team’s record.

“The little things make the biggest difference,” he said.

Tutlam said he and his teammates need to focus on boxing out, being in the right position on defense and making smart shots.

“The little things are the things we need to understand,” Tutlam said. “If we do, we’ll generate more wins.”

Coach Tom Jensen sees experience, or rather a lack of experience, as a contributing factor to the losing season. The team is made up of mostly juniors and only a few have played at the varsity level.

“We’re trying to get them into some situations where they can be successful with the amount of experience they have, and build upon that,” said Jensen.

Jensen said that the team is going to need to play with more consistency to put a number in the Win column. The Marauders have started to play closer games, though he acknowledged they still sometimes let a game slip away.

“We’ll have two or three games where we’re competing against some of the very best teams in WESCO,” he said. “Then we’ll have games where it’s like it’s not even the same team from the night before.”

Jensen said the team needs to rebound and eliminate turnovers consistently.

“That’ll equal a win at the end of games,” he said.

Tutlam is certain a win is in the Marauders’ future. He said the team chemistry is excellent and sees the tough season strengthening his teammates, bringing them closer together.

“As long as we learn together, lose together and find out new things together, next year it’ll be a positive result,” he said.

However, the Marauders still have hope for this year. For now, they are not mathematically eliminated from playoff contention.

All they have to do is not finish in last place in WESCO South – while Cascade loses their games – and they will have a shot.

“Then we can qualify,” Tutlam said. “But if we don’t then, hey, enough said.”