The Pirate boys’ basketball team came out with another victory, 61-55, last Tuesday against league foe Charles Wright at home on what was senior night.
John Yates, who announces the games on Voice of Vashon with Kevin Linnell, spoke to the opponents’ skill and attitude in an interview earlier this week.
“Charles Wright has some really good basketball players, and they came out wanting to beat Vashon at home on senior night,” he said. “They came out ready to play.”
At halftime, the Pirates were down, 32-25, but Vashon is typically a second-half team, Yates said, and they came back out and quickly tied the score. It was a back-and-forth battle after that, and the Pirates were trailing by 2 going into the fourth quarter. Senior leadership took over from there as both Jessie Norton and Ian Stewart made huge plays down the stretch. In the end, the Pirates outscored Charles Wright 36 to 23 in the last half, giving the victory to the Pirates.
Yates noted that Tuesday’s game was not a must win for the Pirates as they claimed the Nisqually League champion title last week, and sewed up the number-one seed at district playoffs at the same game.
“Tuesday night was just playing to have an undefeated season in the Nisqually League,” Yates said.
He added that Vashon currently has one of the best defenses in the entire state.
“It’s not a high-scoring team,” he said. “They just lock other teams down and don’t let them score.”
The team has considerable offensive talent, he added, but they play a style where the defense controls the game.
Speaking to offensive skill, he noted that senior Jessie Norton averages about 20 points per game and is the Nisqually League’s lead scorer. Several other teammates average 8 to 10 points per game, Yates added.
With a 19-1 record, this is the best regular season start in school history except for 2009, when the boys took the state championship. This year’s record ties that year.
The Green Tide was high and in full force last week and celebrated the victory and the final home game for the senior boys, which in addition to Norton, include Ian Stewart, Darrin May-Power and Steen Jennings.
The Pirates played Charles Wright again yesterday at Sumner High School in the second round of the District 3 playoffs. With a win in that game, which was after press deadline, they will play again on Thursday night for the district title. If the boys won on Tuesday, the game will be at 7:45 p.m. Thursday. If they lost, it will be at 6 p.m Thursday. All games can be heard live on Voice of Vashon.
