The Vashon High School Pirate boys’ basketball team opened their state tournament bid with a convincing win at the Yakima SunDome on Wednesday.

Playing against the Ilwaco Fishermen, the Pirates took a 27-16 halftime margin and kicked their second-half game into high gear to rack up a 54-27 win.

The Pirates were off to a quick start, Thomas Timm-Skove taking the opening tip from John Gage to score the first basket within the first 4 seconds. However, they could not get clear separation from the Fishermen in the first half. Poor shooting on the Pirates’ end, along with timely baskets by Ilwaco cutters on the defensive end, allowed the Fishermen to stay close.

The Pirates dominated Ilwaco in the second half. Timm-Skove began attacking the basket from the wing. He made 4 of 6 freethrows from the resulting fouls and nailed a 3 pointer off an inbound pass to pace the Pirates’ 10-0 third period scoring. He would finish the game with 15 points. He and his teammates hounded Ilwaco defensively and absolutely dominated the boards. They forced the Fishermen into 12 turnovers, including 7 steals. However, they missed their opportunity to completely blow the Fishermen out of the water by missing several point-blank put-backs.

Gage managed his inside duties very well, ending with 17 points and 11 rebounds. The other Vashon tower, Charlie Hoffman, added 11 rebounds while point guard Max Burnham had 7. Burnham also put a great defensive effort on Ilwaco’s 15 ppg guard Karl Oman, shadowing him in the half-court and holding him to 8 points. Ilwaco’s leading scorer, 19 ppg Jack Whealdon, was also held to 8 points.

The Pirates play their second round game against the Lake Roosevelt Raiders at 5:30 PM Thursday, March 5.

Check out www.Tourneytown.com for up-to-date game summaries and box scores.