by Marty Zier
Sports contributor
The Viking boys won first place the NW 1A/2B conference with an 11-1 record with back-to-back wins last week against Mt. Vernon Christian and Darrington.
“The final leg of the regular season worked out a bit like a victory lap for us. We knew that we were playing teams that we had already beaten pretty soundly, but you never want to be so overconfident as to underestimate a team,” said Coach Corey Wiscomb. “These seniors have worked so hard to be where they are right now. They are tremendous examples of work ethic and togetherness for younger players.”
The Vikings handled the Hurricanes easily, winning 79-33.
Orcas finished the season with a 77-31 win against Darrington. Up 18-0 early due to three point accuracy, Wiscomb used the remainder of the game to prepare for the postseason.
“It was a nice opportunity to rest some of our starters while giving the bench the minutes they deserve,” said Wiscomb.
Orcas set a new scoring record in the league with an averaged 71.6 points per game, narrowly surpassing the previous LaConner record of 71.4 points per game.
Commenting on the first place league finish, Wiscomb said, “This is only the third time in school history the boys basketball team has done this, and the first time in 20 years. We’re extremely proud that we will be hanging that banner in our school, but that was only one of our goals. We took a moment to celebrate the accomplishment, but now it’s time to go back to work and earn the next goal.”
The Vikings start the post season with home court advantage on Saturday, Feb. 11 with time and opponent TBA.
The lady Vikings ended the regular season an impressive 8-4 conference record after a loss to Mt. Vernon and a win against Darrington. Orcas enters postseason play after finishing third in the league ahead of Friday Harbor at 6-6 and behind LaConner at 12-0 and Mt. Vernon Christian at 10-2.
Orcas lost their second meet with the Hurricanes from Mt. Vernon Christian 46-36 Jan. 30. Coach Gregg Sasan commented about the game, “We like to turn the ball over against the Hurricanes. They have a tough defense which contributes but we panic and have indecision. When we keep our composure, we do well. We were never out of this game, we just missed a lot of our looks.”
The last game of the season went out with a bang, and an elbow, and a shove. Orcas beat the Darrington Loggers 65-43 in what Sasan called a ‘brawl.’
“They took this game personal. They racked up 34 fouls against us. This was the type of game you just want to get through with no injuries. For me, it was a good game because every player I put on the floor scored.”
The lady Vikings start post-season play against Auburn Adventist.
