The Lopez Lobos bounded into Saturday’s game against Lummi with a stellar league record and great energy. But despite fast and furious play, they couldn’t quite take the Blackhawks down.

“It was tough to lose,” said coach M.R. Buffum, adding,

“It was worth all the marbles. It was a battle; they [Lummi coaches] said it was the best game they’ve seen all year.”

The Lobos arrived with a sound 6-1 league record; Lummi brought to the court a faultless 7-0.

The Lobos played well, said Buffum. Problem was, the Lummi Blackhawks played just a little bit better.

“We had four guys in double figures, and we lost the game,” Buffum said in amazement.

The devil was in the details.

“We had those little mental breakdowns here and there which are a big part of the game. Every little possession in a game like that is very valuable. You have to get something out of every one of them – and we didn’t,” he explained.

The Lobos also got into some foul trouble. And Buffum said the game was on the line – the free-throw line, that is.

“Free throw shooting killed us – we were 8 for 22 from the line,” he noted.

Lummi built a 12 point lead early on, but the Lobos drove back hard for a score of 39-35 at half. With 3.5 minutes left, the Lobos were only down by one point, but the Blackhawks pulled away in the end for a final score of 62 to 67.

The Lobos had won easily against Grace Academy on Jan. 19, with a score of 49 to 25. When the Lobos had posted 30 to 9 by halftime, Buffum made sure every team member got some court time.

“We played everybody. We had nine guys score. We just jumped on ‘em. They’re pretty young and they’re struggling. It was over at halftime,” explained M.R.

Forward Alex Buffum led the scoring with 14 points.

Highland Christian forfeited Friday’s game, Jan. 22, granting the Lobos an automatic league win. Buffum was disappointed, having anticipated another easy win. He said the game would have provided valuable experience for the team’s younger Lobos.

With three games left to go in the regular season,

“We’re pretty much guaranteed 2nd place unless we totally fall of the face of the earth,” Buffum said. He has faith that the Lobos will give it their best shot.

“I’ve done this for 30 years and these boys are tough. They’re not going to give up,” he remarked.