In a 1A boys’ basketball regional game Saturday in Battleground, Washington, near Vancouver, 15th seed Vashon lost to 10th seed King’s Way Christian by a score of 53-40. The Knights of King’s Way will now advance to the state tournament in Yakima and play Warden High School.
The Pirates’ loss eliminates them from state competition and ends their season with a record of 14-9. But despite the loss, they are the reigning Nisqually League Champions.
Saturday’s game began with King’s Way senior Skyler Freeman, a 6-foot-3 guard, getting the opening tip. He scored on the first possession with a fairly uncontested drive to the basket and a 2-foot shot.
Vashon senior standout Casper Forest answered with a 3-point basket from deep in the right corner. Vashon then threw a full-court press on the inbound play, but a long pass to Freeman got them quickly up the court. Freeman drove to the hoop, stepped around two Pirate defenders and floated in another 2 points. After a lay-in by Knights forward Joe Mills, Pirate Noah Edmonds hit a jump shot from 10 feet to put the score at 6-5 with the Knights leading.
Freeman returned the favor with a drive into the lane, another fake to the right, a move to the left and scored on a runner.
VHS had a turnover, allowing King’s Way to take a shot from deep and miss before 6-foot-5 Knight Matt Garrison got the rebound and scored.
Vashon’s Colin Pottinger scored a lay-in on an inbounds play under the basket, which kept Vashon close at 10-7. VHS then stole the ball, but missed the shot, and Knight guard Nick Pulicella drained a long 3-point shot.
In response, Pirate Jahmiah Hoogen drove into the left side of the lane, faked a shot causing a defender to jump into the air, and then he put the ball on the glass for 2 points. Freeman then scored again, and Forest answered with a cut into the lane and a quick bank shot for 2 points. The first quarter ended with King’s Way leading 15-11.
In the beginning of the second quarter, Vashon made a crucial challenge to King’s with baskets and free throws from Forest. Combined with a King’s turnover, the Pirates had the momentum. With the score at 17-15, VHS lost the ball on the right wing and King’s got an easy lay-in. From this point on, the Pirates could not get in the scoring column and more turnovers gave the Knights more scoring opportunities. The half ended with a 29-17 lead for King’s.
The third period had a methodical pace with neither team running full court presses, nor fast-breaks. While maintaining a double digit lead, King’s was happy to trade baskets with Vashon. At the end of the third quarter, the Knights led 40-28.
The fourth quarter saw Vashon’s Rhys Jennings and Langston Dziko hit from deep. The Pirates reduced the lead early, but could not get their shots to drop consistently to enable them to cut deeper into the Knights margin. King’s always seemed to have its center under the basket for a quick bucket to maintain the lead.
VHS shot 28 percent from beyond the arc, which wasn’t good enough to bring them back from the early second-quarter deficit.
King’s Way had balanced scoring. Freeman led with 15, senior Karter Graves had 12 and seniors Joe Mills and Matt Garrison each had 10 points.
For the Pirates, the scoring was Forest 17, Edmonds 8, Jennings 6, Dziko 5 and Hoogen and Colin Pottinger each had 2.
According to the Tacoma News Tribune, Forest set Vashon’s single-season record with 57 3-pointers.
Saturday’s loss caps a successful season for Vashon’s boys’ basketball team, which made it to the regional level with a young team. Nearly all of last year’s high-scoring players: Sam Schoenberg, Sean Delargy, Sam Yates and Edgar Polkat, graduate last June.
The team will lose Forest, Dziko and Jennings to graduation this year.
— Daniel Briggs is the father of a Pirate boys’ basketball player.
