Last week was an excellent week for the Vashon High School boys’ basketball team, as the Pirates notched three wins. Vashon held on to second place in the Nisqually League standings with victories against both Orting High School (75-39) and Charles Wright Academy (53-43), while also sending down non-league foe Auburn Adventist (62-46).
The player of the week has to be senior captain Alex Wegner, who set a Pirate single-game scoring record with 38 points against Auburn. The previous record was 35 points. In addition to his scoring barrage, Wegner also grabbed 21 rebounds in the contest, just missing the school record of 25.
During last Saturday’s game, Auburn pulled out to an early lead, but by mid-way through the first quarter, the Pirates had regained control and led 34-19 at halftime. Auburn came back hard in the third quarter, scoring 18 points while Vashon put up only eight, and the Falcons narrowed the margin to five points.
The Pirates put the game away with Wegner dropping in 18 of the team’s 20 points in the fourth quarter to seal the victory.
Hamzah Griffin put up 10 points, Dan Lofland and Kyle Bakker had four each, and Tyler Stoffer, Jeff Rauma and Adrian Arceo each added two.
Wegner dropped 29 points in the Pirate victory over Orting on Tuesday, Feb. 1. The contest began on an even keel as the Pirates held a narrow 10-7 lead midway through the first period. Vashon’s defense, however, held Orting scoreless through the rest of the quarter. The Pirate offense scored on 10 of its 16 possessions in the period and held a commanding 21-7 advantage at the end of the first.
Vashon increased that 14-point lead to 24 points by halftime. The Pirates hit on 12 of 20 possessions. Wegner pumped in 25 of his 29 points during the first half, leading the Pirates to a comfortable 45-21 margin at the break.
The second half saw the entire crew of Pirates take to the court. The offensive scoring attack was spread around the squad as eight different players put the ball through the hoop.
In addition to Wegner’s totals, Adrian Arceo tallied 11 points, Kyle Bakker and Jesse Hazzard collected 11 each, Jeff Rauma hit for six, Hamzah Griffin and Dan Lofland notched five, while Ben Whitacker chipped in with three, and Matt Dick hit for a pair.
Last Friday, the Charles Wright Tarriers, a team that is 1-10 in league play this year, gave the Pirates quite a scare. Vashon often trailed Charles Wright in this game and never held more than a three-point lead until deep into the final period.
The Pirates did not hold a lead until Griffin shot a pair from the foul line to put the Pirates up 8-7 with about three minutes left in the first period. Wegner accounted for 10 of the Pirates’ 14 points as the first frame ended with the Pirates holding a one point edge.
The second and third quarters proved to be more of the same, with the Tarriers up by one at the half and the Pirates up by one at the end of the third.
Five consecutive turnovers (three committed by Charles Wright and two by Vashon) opened the first two and a half minutes of the final period. Finally, Bakker went strong to the basket for two, and hit on the subsequent free throw. In the final two minutes of the contest, Bakker hit for another pair, and Wegner put down eight points while the defense held the Tarriers to a single three-pointer, and the Pirates were able to pull out a nail biter that was way too close for comfort.
Vashon’s final regular season game was last night against Chimacum. The Pirates earned a bye in the first round of the tri-district tournament and will enter the playoff season in the second round with a home game at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb.15, against an opponent yet to be announced.
