Miraculous victories were in short supply night as the Seahawks found themselves falling behind — and staying behind — the Bainbridge Spartans during their ill-fated visit to the island.
That other similarly monikered team from Seattle must have used up all the grand finale fairy dust, because the Chief Sealth varsity boys basketball team definitely finished in worse shape than they began.
The visitors from the big city went home disappointed after coming up short in a 57-49 loss to the Bainbridge Spartans, despite being ahead at the end of the first half 26-23.
Bainbridge took the lead almost right away with an immediate two points scored by Trent Schulte, but the Spartans were unable to hold the advantage for long.
Still, the first quarter ended with the home team up 14-9. But Chief Sealth came back hard in the second and outscored the Spartans 17-9 to gain the lead.
The third quarter was undoubtedly the scrappiest of the game, with neither team making significant gains over the other. The contest would enter its final quarter 38-35, BHS.
Bainbridge outscored the visitors 19-14 in the final stanza, and, as the scoreboard and timer reflected the point of no return, defeat was reflected in an apparent swing in the swagger of the Seahawks.
It was a rookie mistake for an otherwise formidable team, said Spartan Head Coach Scott Orness, and one that he said had nearly befallen the Spartans earlier in the night.
“We made that big jump on them in the fourth and we could see their body language change,” he explained. “The positive mojo went our way.”
“That’s something we have to be careful of to,” Orness added. “In the first half, they made a little run on us and you could see our body language change. So that’s something that’s a great lesson for these kids.”
Speaking of the team’s mood at the end of the first half, the coach said that there was indeed little to cheer about.
“We weren’t very happy in the first half,” he said. “We had a lot of turnovers and we were giving up a lot of offensive rebounds, which is something we should never be doing as a team.”
“I thought that Oskar [Dieterich] really responded in the second half,” Orness added. “He gave us a lot of energy.”
“I thought Lyle [Terry] responded as well. I really challenged both of those guys at half time.”
Bainbridge was led to victory by some of the same standout names fans have come to expect.
Spartan senior Ben Beatie dominated the BHS offensive efforts and scored 16 points alone.
Sophomore guard/wing Lyle Terry and senior wing Dawson Gonwick both managed nine points throughout the game, Blake Swanson scored eight and Schulte chipped in seven.
“Blake [Swanson] leads the way,” Orness said of the senior guard, who he noted was also crucial to the team’s recent nail-bitingly close win on the road over West Seattle.
“Blake really had a great game at West Seattle and he’s been doing a phenomenal job as our leader at the point,” Orness said.
Though he described the win against Chief Sealth as overall a little “sloppy,” Orness said that the victory was also well-earned.
“They’re a good ball club,” he said of the visitors. “They’re a seasoned ball club. They’ve got basically four guys that have been starting since their sophomore year — kind of like us.”
