The Vashon High School Boys Basketball team ended their season Saturday night after a 57-47 loss to Bellevue Christian in a playoff game that decided the second seed for the Nisqually League.

Bellevue Christian (BC) was behind Vashon for the first 30 minutes of the game. But in the last two minutes, Vashon lost its edge and BC made four straight baskets to send the game into overtime. In the extra period, BC ran away with the game, winning by 10 points.

The early part of the game had more defense than offense, and both teams brought everything they had to contest possessions. With the clock reading 3:52 in the first quarter, BC hit two free throws and led 7-3. Bellevue scored only three more points the rest of the half; Vashon took the lead at the break, 15-10.

BC started the third quarter with a 3 from 22 feet. Mike Piatti answered with a 3 from the left side. BC’s Tyler Jump got two of his 23 points from two feet. Piatti drove from the left corner, put a shot on the glass and in the bucket. The awarded free throw also counted. Vashon led 21-15. Jump, on the next possession, took two steps into the paint, spun left and put the ball in the hoop for two more points. Vashon went three possessions with turnovers and missed shots. At the three-minute mark, Jump made a 3 from 20 feet to tie the game.

Noah Edmonds drove to the hoop and scored. At the other end of the court, BC was called for travelling. In Vashon front court, Tommy Delargy drove down the left side of the paint then passed to Ethan Danielsen for a 2-point bucket. On the next BC possession, 6’6” Ken West leaped way above the rim and laid the ball on the glass and in the bucket for two points. Then Jump grabbed a missed Jacob Chavez shot, drove to the hoop and scored. The awarded free throw was good, and BC led 26-25 with 55 seconds in the period. Piatti, fouled while driving to the hoop, made both free throws. The third quarter ended with the Pirates leading 27-26.

The final quarter started with Piatti hitting from downtown. BC answered with a 10-foot jump shot. Delargy sliced into the key and hit a 6-foot runner. Colin Pottinger blocked a BC shot, and Delargy scored with a 5-foot jumper. He was fouled and made the free throw for a 35-28 lead. Vashon stopped BC on their next possession. Piatti drove to the hoop and was fouled. He made them both, for a 37-28 lead. West slashed into the paint and scored a lay-in and was given a free throw.

Edmonds made a 10-foot shot with 3:33 on the clock. Vashon made a defensive stop against BC, and in front court with 2:51 remaining in the game, Pottinger swished a 15-foot jumper for a 10-point lead, 41-31.

With about two minutes remaining, West hit a 3-pointer from 20 feet. At 1:39 the Pirates had a bad pass turnover. On the next BC possession, West hit another 3 from the right side to put the score at 41-39 with 1:20 left in the game. Vashon ran down the clock but missed the shot. With 24 seconds remaining, Jump hit an eight-foot running jump shot to tie the game, 41-41.

In overtime, West continued his hot hand with a 3 from the right side. Piatti drove into the paint for a running 4-foot basket. West went to the hoop for another basket and a 46-43 lead. In frontcourt for BC, Piatti stole the ball, and in VHS frontcourt Edmonds was fouled. He made one of two. At the BC end, Jump made a running 18 foot jumper for a 48-44 lead with less than two minutes to play.

Tyler Jump, on fire at both ends of the court, stole a VHS pass and, while falling, saved the possession. At their front court, with one minute on the clock, West drained a 3 from the left side. The basket gave BC a 7-point lead, but Jahmiah Hoogen hit a 3 to reduce it to 51-47.

The Pirates could not score again but fouled BC in a desperate attempt to get possession quickly. BC made good on their free throws.

Bellevue Christian high scorer was West with 27 points. Tyler Jump had 23. Scoring for Vashon was Piatti 17, Delargy 12, Edmonds 6, Hoogen 6, Potting 4, and Danielsen 2.

Vashon loses lead, wins in OT

Vashon Island led the whole game against the Port Townsend Redhawks, but could not prevent their final onslaught of three point baskets that sent the game into overtime. In that final four minutes, the Pirates took back the game and won 53-41.

The win meant Vashon would play Bellevue Christian Saturday, with the winner going to the regional playoffs.

Both teams displayed playoff nerves in the early going of this District 3 match, with many dropped balls and missed shots. In the third minute of the game Tommy Delargy and Noah Edmonds trapped a Port Townsend (PT) guard, stole the ball, and Edmonds made the lay-in for the first points. One minute later Edmonds hit a 10-foot turnaround jumper for a 4-0 lead. Jahmiah Hoogen hit a 3 from the deep right side as the first quarter wound down, giving the Pirates the lead at 7-4.

The second quarter was also plagued with nervous play especially from the Redhawks. They missed multiple shots from under the basket. Not until entering the fourth minute did Delargy bury a 3 from the left corner for a 10-4 lead. PT did not score in the second period until 1:46 remained. Jacob Chavez answered with two consecutive 3s, and the Pirates went into the break leading 16-9.

The third period started with Delargy hitting from the deep left corner, but the Redhawks started to find their three-point range. Both Edmonds and Delargy scored from inside and stretched the lead to 25-16, before PT rebounded with a 7-0 run, and Mike Piatti ended the quarter with a 3 from 21 feet. The score was 28-23.

The final quarter saw Piatti and Delargy make short runners, but the Redhawks were cutting into the lead, and when Kaiden Parcher hit a turnaround jumper inside he notched the score at 32-30. A scoring drought ensued, but after a PT shot clock violation, Ethan Danielsen powered in a two-foot, highly contested shot, and a four-point lead.

PT forward Jackson Foster, missed his third straight free throw, but made the next one. Piatti hit a 15- foot jumper at 1:49, and VHS led 36-31. PT answered with a 12-foot shot. Piatti made one of two free throws, for a four-point lead at 57 seconds remaining. Fouled again, Piatti hit one of two free throws, but now VHS led 38-33 with 40 seconds in the game. Vashon got the ball back; Edmonds was fouled, but missed the front end of the one and one opportunity.

With 18.7 seconds remaining, PT hustled down the court and buried a 3. The score board read 38-36. PT fouled Edmonds, putting him on the line to shoot two shots, one of which he made. PT got the rebound, and point guard Jacob Boucher scored his only basket for the night, a 3-pointer to tie the game and send it into overtime.

In the four-minute extra period, Vashon took over, starting with a brilliant pass from Delargy to cutting Piatti for two points. PT missed their shot, Danielsen rebounded, and Edmonds waltzed into the paint from the right side for an easy bucket and made the subsequently awarded free throw. Vashon stole the ball on the next possession, and Edmonds again penetrated into the paint, missed the shot but was fouled. He made both free throws, and the scoreboard read 46 -39 with two minutes remaining.

Delargy lost the ball, stole it back, was fouled and made one of two. PT scored their one and only basket in OT, and Delargy answered with two free throws. PT was called for a foul on Piatti and a technical. Piatti made three of four free throws.

Delargy hit another free throw, and the final score of 53-41.

Vashon scoring went as follows, Delargy 14, Edmonds 14, Piatti 14, Chavez 6, Hoogen 3, and Danielsen 2.

Sophomore Montoya was high scorer for PT with 15 points.

Vashon shooting frigid, loses to Cascade Christian

Tommy Delargy hit his first shot at the beginning of the game, but Vashon scoring went downhill from there. Cascade Christian (CC) beat Vashon 42-32 in the first playoff game among four teams. Port Townsend lost to Bellevue Christian, 57-40, in a later game.

In the early part of the game, both teams were struggling to overcome their nerves. After the Delargy three-point basket, VHS could only manage one more point in the first quarter, trailing at the end of the first period 7-4.

The guard duo for CC of Noah Wilkens and Nathan Larsen repeatedly were able to penetrate the VHS defense and get to the hoop. For Vashon, the inside game was absent. The Pirates did not score a two-point basket in the entire first half, missing 14 shots. They made three baskets from beyond the arc and made three free throws. The half time score was in favor of CC 18-12.

In the third period, Delargy started Vashon scoring by hitting two straight three-point shots. CC answered with shots inside by Corbin Nohr and free throws by Larsen. With 3:30 remaining in the quarter, Edmonds made the first two point shot for Vashon and followed it with another. The quarter ended with CC ahead, 29-22.

Edmonds got the fourth period off to a good start with a running five-foot basket and then a 15-foot jump shot. Delargy hit a 3 from downtown to make the score 31-29, with 4:40 remaining. CC hit two free throws, and a Vashon turnover resulted in a Wilkens’ lay-in and a six-point Cougar lead. The Cougars then spread the offense into each corner of the frontcourt to slow down and control the game. The Pirates, desperate to get the ball, left open Larsen to make a three-foot shot at 2:08 and a crushing 8-point lead.

Delargy was the leading VHS scorer with 12 points. Also scoring were Edmonds 11, Pottinger 6, Sam Briggs 2, and Danielsen 1.

— Daniel Brigss is the father of a Pirate basketball player.