By EZRA LACINA
The Vashon Pirate hoopsters went 2-0 last week with commanding victories over Bellevue Christian and Chimacum.
On Tuesday, the Bellevue Christian Vikings made the trip to Vashon to take on the highly ranked Pirates. The game started well for Vashon, who scored quickly and played solid defense. Senior captain Owen Brenno turned in an impressive first quarter scoring 6. At the end of the first quarter, Vashon was up 17-10.
Halfway through the second quarter, junior captain Jessie Norton came alive, getting more aggressive on offense and defense, highlighted by Norton ripping the ball from a Viking’s hands and going coast-to-coast for the lay-in. At the half, Vashon still had the lead, 31-21.
In the third quarter, the Pirate offense came out firing on all cylinders. Norton continued to drive the lane with success, and overall Vashon’s offense was clicking. There was no shortage of highlights for the Pirates. Sophomore Sam Yates made a great play, grabbing the rebound off a missed free throw then sinking a corner 3. Junior Ian Stewart had the highlight of the period, nailing a shot while getting knocked down to beat the shot clock then making the free throw. Overall Vashon outscored Bellevue Christian 24-11 in the quarter.
Vashon put the brakes on their scoring attack in the fourth quarter as head coach Andy Sears gave his backups some playing time. However, the Pirate defense did not let up, allowing only 8 points in the fourth and sealing the victory. The 66-40 domination gave Sears his 210th win, setting a new school record for overall victories by a head basketball coach. Sears has achieved this milestone in only 13 seasons while the previous record took 26 seasons to accumulate.
Norton led the Vashon scoring with 16, followed by sophomore Noah Chee with 12 and Brenno with 11.
On Friday, the Pirates made the long drive to Chimacum to take on the struggling Cowboys. The first quarter went just as expected, pure domination. Yates scored first for the Pirates with an inside bucket then added two 3-pointers to jump start Vashon’s offense. While doing very well on offense, Vashon’s defense was dismantling the Cowboys, allowing only 4 points in the first quarter. At the end of the first quarter, Vashon was up 17-4.
Chimacum’s offensive play improved greatly in the second quarter, but it was not enough to impose a threat on Vashon. Norton was taking over on offense in the second quarter, at one point making a shot over three defenders. At the half Vashon, was up big, 38-17.
Things didn’t change much in the second half. Chimacum had been put in too big of a hole to recover. Norton continued to wreck the Cowboy defense, showing why he is one of the best offensive players in the league. In the fourth quarter, Chee made a spin move layup, leaving his defender lost in the paint. The final highlight of the night was turned in by sophomore Sean Delargie, when he knocked down a 3 pointer.
In the end Vashon was victorious, winning by a score of 68-42. Norton again led the Pirates in scoring with an impressive 24 points, followed by Yates with 14.
At press time, the Pirates had two regular season games left to play, one against Eatonville and one against rival Charles Wright. If they can win these two games, they will have a share in the league championship.
— Ezra Lacina is the sports editor for The Riptide.
