The Anacortes Seahawks came one step closer to a state tournament berth Thursday night, by edging the Lakewood Cougars 63-60, in an elimination game in the boys 2A District Tournament at Mount Vernon High School.
To say that the game was tight all the way would be the understatement of the week. After the Cougars took a 6-2 lead with 3:35 left in the opening quarter, the Seahawks pulled closer due to the play of sophomore forward Micah Dickison, who scored the Seahawks first seven points.
As the Cougars played for the last shot of the first quarter, the Seahawks ended up with a transition opportunity, and junior guard Davis Fogle was fouled on a shot attempt with point-five seconds left. He made both free throws for his only points of the first quarter, and tied the score at 13-13.
Sophomore forward Caleb Greenland and senior guard Ben Rucker combined for all the Cougars 13 points in the opening quarter.
As the Seahawks continued to full court press, Greenland found lanes to the rim three times for scores, and added a 3-pointer in the second quarter as part of his 17-point first half.
On the other end, Lakewood’s defensive scheme against Fogle was to run a second defender at him as he crossed the mid court line with the dribble. This did help to limit Fogle’s opportunities, but he still managed to score nine points in the second quarter, and 11 for the first half.
The teams continued to go back and forth as a Fogle 3-pointer was, seconds later, answered by Cougars junior guard Nash Espe, at the 3:20 mark of the second quarter, reclaiming the lead for the Cougars, 24-23. The teams went to the locker room tied at 29-29.
Early in the third quarter, a three by Fogle and an inside score by sophomore Brennan Morgenthaler gave the Seahawks a five-point lead. But a 3-pointer by senior forward Zach Stoddard gave the Cougars the lead, one more time, 39-38, with 3:10 left in the quarter.
Over the next three minutes, Seahawks junior guard Jake Andrew found openings in the Cougars defense and drained three straight 3-pointers to put the Seahawks ahead 47-39 at the 1:20 mark of the third quarter.
But the Cougars quickly responded to that challenge, as senior guard Jordan Isam hit a 3-point shot. Then junior guard Evan Stacey found Espe for an inside score, and the two repeated that sequence just before the buzzer to cut the Seahawks lead to just one point, 47-46.
As the excitement and the pressure grew with each passing second of this elimination game, the fourth quarter morphed into “panic mode.”
After the Seahawks scored early in the fourth quarter to take a 3-point lead, Fogle nailed a three from the volleyball line to put the Seahawks up by six with 6:20 left.
That lead vanished quickly as the Cougars scored the next eight points as Greenland scored a bucket in between two 3-pointers from Rucker, and the Cougars went up 54-52 with 4:50 left.
The offenses went silent for nearly two minutes before Seahawks junior wing Aiden Miller nailed a 3-pointer from the left corner, and the Seahawks were back on top by a point.
Then, this happened:
Fogle hit a heavily guarded 3-pointer with 1:35 left. Then Rucker answered that at 1:20. Fogle answered the answer (off the glass) a few seconds later. Finally, Isam answered all those with a 3-pointer with 50 seconds to play. Anacortes still led 61-60.
On the next Seahawks possession, Fogle secured an offensive rebound and was fouled with 29 seconds left. He hit both free throws, and the Cougars needed three points to tie.
On their final try, Stacey took the inbounds pass near mid court, circled the dribble along the baseline and from under the basket, fired a pass to Rucker in the left corner. Rucker got the shot off, but maybe a slight fade-away due to the tight defense of Morgenthaler made the difference, as the ball hit short on the rim, and the buzzer sounded. (Highlight on X).
The Cougars season ends with a record of 14-10, and a team that surely played their best basketball against their toughest opponents.
Rucker, the senior, scored 21 points in his final game, hitting five 3-pointers. Greenland also scored 21, and will be an all-around force for the Cougars for the next two years. The Cougars hit 12 3-pointers in the game.
Fogle scored 25 for the Seahawks, and Dickison added 11. The most important points on the night for the Seahawks were the nine by Andrew, and the three from Miller.
The Seahawks still have work to do, as they will face Cedarcrest at 715p, Saturday at Mount Vernon High School. This will be the third meeting between the teams, with the Red Wolves winning both, including a 9-point semifinal win last Friday. This will be a winner to state, loser out game.
I think “panic mode” will be in full effect, soon after tipoff.
~ Ted House
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