There was good news and bad news for the Vashon High School boys basketball team last week.

The bad news came early in the week when the Pirates were soundly defeated by Nisqually League arch-rival Cascade Christian, 49-20. The Cougars sit atop the league standings at 4-0, and are ranked number two in the state among division 1A teams. However, you can’t keep a good Pirate down. Vashon rebounded to handle Orting, 46-34, last Friday, and came right back on Saturday to crush Seattle Academy, 61-43.

The obvious highlight of the victory over Seattle Academy was the smokin’ hot hand of Alex Wegner. The senior captain put down an unbelievable 34 points, and missed setting the Pirate all-time single game scoring record by a mere two points.

This game was never really close, as the Pirates opened the contest with an 18-10 lead at the end of the first period and just kept running. In addition to Wegner’s 34 points, scoring contributions were made by Adrian Arceo (8), Dan Lofland (6), Hamzah Griffin (5), Kyle Bakker (4), Jeff Rauma (3) and Ben Whitaker (1).

On Friday, Wegner opened the Orting game with a beautiful pass to hit Hamzah Griffin right under the hoop for the first points in the Pirates’ win. An inbound play on the next possession saw Tyler Stoffer drop the ball into Ben Whitaker’s hands in the corner. Whitaker hit nothing but net for a 3-pointer, and the Pirates never looked back. By the end of the first quarter, Vashon held a 15-4 lead.

Although no one on the Cardinal roster exceeded six feet, Orting played tough and aggressively, and Vashon was in a double-bonus free throw situation by midway through the second quarter. Orting followed an unusual substitution pattern, pulling all five players out and replacing them every few minutes. But the Pirate defense stayed focused and held a 24-11 lead going into the locker room at the half.

By the end of the third quarter, the Pirates had increased their lead by three and ended it at 36-20. The game continued to be a physical battle with both teams being in the double bonus in the fourth quarter, but the Pirates prevailed and brought home the win.

On Saturday, the Pirates played the Cougars tough in the first quarter and trailed Cascade by only three when the buzzer sounded. But it’s safe to say that this game was not the Pirates’ best effort. Vashon took 20 shots that missed the mark and were rebounded by the Cougars. In fact, the Pirates hit on only six shots from the floor. To make matters worse, they suffered well over 15 turnovers, and lost Wegner for the rest of the game near the end of the third period when he went down with a twisted ankle.

Vashon holds a 2-2 record in league play (6-5 overall). The Pirates took on Charles Wright last night and will play at home against Chimacum at 5:15 p.m. Friday, Jan. 14, and Seattle Christian at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 18.

— Steve Edele is the father of Pirate Nick Fox-Edele.