| - video by Jim P. |
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WA Boys B unable to beat Silverdale 1 a second time on the road |
SILVERDALE, Wash. – Do you remember ten days ago, on Friday, Feb. 16th, when WA Boys B guard Trenton Bulmer banked in a half-court three at the buzzer to snatch victory away from the visiting Silverdale Boys B 1 Spartans, 45-to-44. The Spartans did.
Monday (Feb. 26) night the Silverdale stepped onto the hardwood in their own gym at Ridgetop Middle School with a purpose, to get back the win the Warren Ave Knights had taken from them.
From the opening tip the Spartans played with a passion that put the WA Boys B team on its heels and earned Silverdale Boys B 1 its first win of the 2018 season, 35-to-31.
Seemingly unready to play, the Knights spotted Silverdale five quick points.
At the sixteen-minute mark, Warren Ave head coach Ryan Christian called a timeout to try and get his boys focused.
The pep talk accomplished little and the Knights found themselves trailing 9-to-2 midway through the 1st half.
“Our shooting percentage was terrible,” coach Christian remarked after the game. “In practice we worked on take more high percentage shots and the boys did that. The ball just wouldn’t go in.”
Rebounding also played a factor in Silverdale’s success. The Spartans limited Warren Ave’s second-chance attempts to less than a third of their shot’s, whereas Silverdale repeatedly got three and four attempts at their end of the floor.
Remarkably, the Knights trailed by only four points at the half, 14-to-18. This was due primarily to an offensive and defensive spurt in the final minutes by team leading scorer and rebounder Jmiah Smith. Smith scored two quick field goals, blocked a Silverdale shot, and grabbed a steal that he turned into Warren Ave’s final basket of the half.
Collecting two early fouls, Smith was relegated to the bench five minutes into the game. Coach Christian put him back in with 3:10 left in the first half and he made his presence felt almost immediately. He ended the game with 20 points and 14 rebounds, his second double-double of the season.
The second half Knights played with a greater sense of urgency that their first half counterparts. Four minutes into the second period Silverdale called a time-out because Warren Ave was threatening to tie the game.
That never occurred. For the next twelve minutes, the Spartans pretty much did what they wanted offensively and rang-up a 34-to-22 lead.
But Coach Christian isn’t a man to roll over and die and he has instilled that same tenacity into the WA Boys B boys.
Switching to a trapping man-on-man defense and long-ball shooting strategy, the Knights upped the tempo of the game. Three consecutive three-point baskets by Smith and Bulmer, who ended with 11 points and 4 assists, got Warren Ave to within a single possession of tying the game with 30 seconds remaining.
This night, though, there would be no miracle Knight comeback.
Fouled in the act of shooting, the designated Silverdale free throw shooter made both shots and the game ended with Silverdale 1 getting it first victory of the season, 35-to-31.
“I am proud of the way the boys played tonight,” Coach Christian added. “They are young, still learning the game, and they gave it everything they had. You can’t ask for anything else.”
The Knights will be test again on Wednesday, Mar. 7th, when they travel north for a rematch against NK-Suquamish.
Friday (Feb. 23), Warren Ave lost the first meeting between these two teams this season, 43-to-37, at Mountain View Middle School.
Wednesday’s (Mar. 7) game will tip-off at 7:00 p.m. at the Suquamish Tribal Fitness & Youth Center.
