Last week, the Vashon High School boys basketball team took to the road and came home with a 67-62 victory over the Life Christian Eagles and a 61-30 loss to the Cascade Christian Vikings. The win over Life Christian puts the Pirates in second place in the Nisqually League, while Cascade Christian retains the league title and Life Christian, which was tied with Vashon for second, drops to third.
The Eagles put the first points on the board in last Tuesday’s game and led the game for half of the first quarter. The game took a turn when Kyle Bakker came in to lay it in for two of his season high 12 points. The Pirates ended the first quarter with a 20-16 lead.
The Eagles continued to fight back. They started off the second quarter by putting on the pressure and converting off of turnovers to score 10 while the Pirates put up only two. But the Pirates adjusted and brought the game back to a 28-28 tie by the time they headed to the locker room at halftime.
Both teams returned to the floor with intensity. Ben Whitaker stole the ball on Life Christian’s first possession and hit Hamzah Griffin, who was sent to the line after being fouled on the shot. The Eagles answered with two, and Alex Wegner came back with two for the Pirates. The lead changed hands five times before Whitaker hit three shots in a row to put Vashon ahead, 36-34. The Pirates held on to the lead to end the third ahead, 48-45.
The physical battle continued on the court in the fourth, with both teams being in the bonus. The lead continued to alternate, but with just over a minute left, the Eagles sank a three-pointer. Whitaker followed with a drive for two, but the Eagles answered with another three-pointer to narrow the spread to two points. Whitaker missed his next shot, but Bakker put it back for two. Wegner finished by sinking a free throw, finishing the game with the Pirates ahead, 67-62.
Wegner led the scoring with 30, followed by Bakker with 12 and Whitaker with 11. Griffin had seven and Tyler Stoffer had three. Adrian Arceo and Dan Lofland had two each.
Two days later, the Vashon boys traveled to Puyallup to face the Cascade Christian Vikings, the 2010 1A champions. Cascade put in the first basket, but Alex Wegner answered it with a basket “and one” for Vashon, after being fouled on the shot. But the Pirates wouldn’t score again until the end of the quarter when Wegner hit one of two free-throws, and they ended the first quarter behind, 10-4.
The scoring draught continued into until midway through the second quarter, when Hamzah Griffin made five on the scoreboard after sinking a free throw. Bakker put in four more, and Wegner added six, but by halftime the Pirates were down 15-30.
The defensive pressure from the Viking guards created high Pirate turnovers. Combined with hot outside shooting, Cascade Christian had the game advantage. Pirate defensive efforts kept 2010 MVP Cody Shackett to only 12 points, but his teammates Ty King and TJ Tuttle combined for 31. The Pirates lost 30-61, but remain in second place in the Nisqually League.
Wegner led the scoring with 18. Bakker had six, Arceo had four, Griffin and Whitaker had one each.
The Pirates played the Orting Cardinals last night at home. The final home game of the season and senior night will be at 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 4, against the Charles Wright Tarriers.
— Glenna Mileson is the mother of Pirate Alex Wegner.
