It was a good week for the Vashon High School boys basketball team as the Pirates notched a pair of wins, handling Auburn Adventist Academy last Tuesday, 80-53, and battling past Life Christian Academy on Friday, 61-59.

Last Friday’s contest at the high school was basketball at its very best. A loud, enthusiastic home court crowd helped propel the Pirates to a two-point Nisqually League victory over the Life Christian Eagles in a heartstopping hoops hoopla.

With the Pirates down by one and 10 seconds showing on the clock, senior captain Alex Wegner calmly sank a pair of free throws, and Hamzah Griffin added one more from the foul line in the final two seconds to seal the victory.

Wegner had an outstanding night on both ends of the court — directing traffic, grabbing rebounds, blocking shots and racking up 28 points. He left no doubt about why he is the captain of this Pirate squad.

Junior forward Dan Lofland was also a major contributor with 12 points. Ben Whitaker and Jeff Rauma tallied six points each, Griffin had three, and Tyler Stoffer, Matt Dick and Adrian Arceo notched a pair each.

The turning point came midway through the second period. Trailing by eight, the Pirates suddenly turned on the jets. Whitaker and Lofland both hit field goals and made good on subsequent foul shots. Then Wegner took over. He hit from the floor for two, raised the crowd to its feet with a huge block on the defensive end, then came back down the court and hit again to tie the game. Lofland then followed up with a pair of foul shots and a field goal to give the Pirates a 32-30 advantage at the half.

The third period was a draw as Vashon held on to its two-point margin. In the final frame, the game was tied on five different occasions, and the lead changed hands four times before Wegner and Griffin managed to close the door.

Vashon’s contest against Auburn last Tuesday was a much easier row to hoe. The outcome of this game was never in doubt as the Pirates got off the block to an 18-6 first period lead and just kept sprinting.

Every Pirate collected court time, and each one of them contributed to the scoring column. Sophomore Whitaker led the way with 17 points, four of which came from beyond the three-point line. Griffin wasn’t far behind with 15. Others in double digits were Wegner (15) and Stoffer (10). Lofland hit for eight, Jesse Hazzard for five and Arceo for four. Dick, Kyle Bakker and Dylan Basurto hit for two each, while Jeff Rauma and Nick Fox-Edele each collected one from the foul line.

The Pirates now stand at 1-1 in league play and 3-2 overall. Vashon went up against Steilacoom High School last night at an away game, and on Wednesday, Dec. 29, they will travel to Yakima for the Sun Dome Showdown.

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