Published: Wednesday, February 22, 2012
E-W boys exceed expectations with playoff appearance
MILL CREEK — As far as two-year plans go, Edmonds-Woodway boys basketball coach Steve Call’s project is off to an impressive start. The Warriors surprised the league by making a valiant run in the 4A District 1 playoffs.
But it all came to an end when the Warriors suffered a 57-51 loss to Lake Stevens in a loser-out playoff game Feb.18 at Jackson High School. Lake Stevens swept the Warriors this season, defeating them 66-44 in a regular season game Jan. 3, and then twice during the playoffs, including a first-round 63-55 victory on Feb. 8.
“I told them (after the game) that we surpassed anyone’s expectations by far this season,” Call said. “Nobody thought we’d beat Stanwood, nobody thought we’d get this far. We’re on a two-year plan and we talked about that when we came on to start the year and we’re halfway there.”
Although they’re losing four seniors, the Warriors have a strong crew returning to fulfill Call’s plan, including junior point guard Devin Joseph, 6-foot-7 sophomore Travis Bakken and 6-8 junior Henry Olson. The returning trio scored 35 of the Warriors’ 51 points.
“We’re already talking about next year,” Call said. “I am proud of the four seniors we have, but I like our chances next year.”
The Warriors went blow-for-blow with the Vikings for the first 24 minutes. In fact, they led 41-38 to begin what proved to be a disastrous fourth quarter. Lake Stevens’ Kevin Smith dropped a 3-pointer a minute into the quarter as the Vikings went on a 5-0 run. Meanwhile, the Warriors struggled from the field and wouldn’t score until the 5:32 mark after sophomore Jason Smart tacked on the Warriors’ first points of the quarter. With the score tied at 43, the Vikings answered with a Devin Stone 3-pointer. The Warriors then missed their next six consecutive shots and were outscored 14-8 in the final 4:48.
“We just couldn’t get anything to drop,” Bakken said. “It got really frustrating. But we had a good season. We weren’t expected to go far this season, so I think we sent a message that we will be a team to contend with next season.”
Bakken scored nine of his 15 points in the first quarter, but scored just two points in the fourth. Joseph also went cold in the final eight minutes. After scoring 12 first-half points, Joseph managed just one basket in the final frame to finish with 14 points.
Lake Stevens’ standout Christian Gasca hit four 3-pointers, scored 12 first-half points and finished with a game-high 23 points. Smith finished with 15 points.
“We couldn’t hit a shot, but I have to give credit to Lake Stevens,” Call said. “They outworked us in the fourth quarter and their big guy Gasca hit a few big buckets. We had good momentum going into the third and we were doing what we needed to do to win, but when the shots don’t fall it’s hard to win.”
But it all came to an end when the Warriors suffered a 57-51 loss to Lake Stevens in a loser-out playoff game Feb.18 at Jackson High School. Lake Stevens swept the Warriors this season, defeating them 66-44 in a regular season game Jan. 3, and then twice during the playoffs, including a first-round 63-55 victory on Feb. 8.
“I told them (after the game) that we surpassed anyone’s expectations by far this season,” Call said. “Nobody thought we’d beat Stanwood, nobody thought we’d get this far. We’re on a two-year plan and we talked about that when we came on to start the year and we’re halfway there.”
Although they’re losing four seniors, the Warriors have a strong crew returning to fulfill Call’s plan, including junior point guard Devin Joseph, 6-foot-7 sophomore Travis Bakken and 6-8 junior Henry Olson. The returning trio scored 35 of the Warriors’ 51 points.
“We’re already talking about next year,” Call said. “I am proud of the four seniors we have, but I like our chances next year.”
The Warriors went blow-for-blow with the Vikings for the first 24 minutes. In fact, they led 41-38 to begin what proved to be a disastrous fourth quarter. Lake Stevens’ Kevin Smith dropped a 3-pointer a minute into the quarter as the Vikings went on a 5-0 run. Meanwhile, the Warriors struggled from the field and wouldn’t score until the 5:32 mark after sophomore Jason Smart tacked on the Warriors’ first points of the quarter. With the score tied at 43, the Vikings answered with a Devin Stone 3-pointer. The Warriors then missed their next six consecutive shots and were outscored 14-8 in the final 4:48.
“We just couldn’t get anything to drop,” Bakken said. “It got really frustrating. But we had a good season. We weren’t expected to go far this season, so I think we sent a message that we will be a team to contend with next season.”
Bakken scored nine of his 15 points in the first quarter, but scored just two points in the fourth. Joseph also went cold in the final eight minutes. After scoring 12 first-half points, Joseph managed just one basket in the final frame to finish with 14 points.
Lake Stevens’ standout Christian Gasca hit four 3-pointers, scored 12 first-half points and finished with a game-high 23 points. Smith finished with 15 points.
“We couldn’t hit a shot, but I have to give credit to Lake Stevens,” Call said. “They outworked us in the fourth quarter and their big guy Gasca hit a few big buckets. We had good momentum going into the third and we were doing what we needed to do to win, but when the shots don’t fall it’s hard to win.”