The Lobos were flying high, coming off of wins the week of January 4 against Tulalip Heritage (69-47, Lobos) and North Sound Christian (64-36, Lobos) but their eight game winning streak was brought to a stuttering halt by the Orcas Vikings.
Lopez lost to Orcas Saturday, Jan. 9 in the Orcas gymn, 63-47.
“They (the Vikings) were very aggressive and were really on,” Coach MR Buffum said. “We were very lackadaisical on the court. It was almost like we laid down and let them run over us.”
Lobo Colton Jardine, a starter for his team, fouled out early for the Lobos and sat out the first quarter, while two more starters had trouble as well. Alex Buffum re-injured his knee in a fall and Mica Arps collided with another Lopez player and suffered a mild concussion.
In other words, it wasn’t the Lobos’ best game that night.
But the Lobos are no slouches on the basketball court. With eight consecutive wins under their collective belt and five league wins against Grace Academy, Highland Christian, Skykomish, Tulalip, and North Sound Christian, the Lobos are in good shape for the district playoffs. But it will be the game on Friday Jan. 15 that they have to win.
Lummi. Last year’s district champion.
“Lummi will be hard,” Buffum said. “I know the guys are up for it. We just have to maintain our energy going out there.”
Lopez comes on strong in first quarters, but historically has a hard time sustaining that high level of aggressiveness throughout all four quarters. The fourth quarter for Lopez is the hardest.
“We’re just going to have to work on maintaining our attention and not getting injured,” Buffum said.
There is no question, however, that the Lobos are just pure fun to watch. On Tuesday, against Tulalip Heritage the Lobos led by 13 points in the first quarter and by halftime had the Hawks 50-25. In the first half, the Lobos came out with their characteristic explosive first quarter energy and wasted no time putting points on the board in as many ways as they could. Taller than the Heritage Hawks, and more experienced in the ball handling skills department, the Lobos out-finessed and out fought the Hawks. Even when the Lobos were up by almost 30 points, the Lopez team did not let up on their pressure…until the fourth quarter.
“It’s the full court press we use. It can be a danger and it can be an opportunity, and so far, we’ve been lucky. We’ve been able to turn them into opportunities,” Buffum said. “But we lose our gas in the fourth quarter.”
Lobos William Carson, Keldon Jardine, Mica Arps, Colton Jardine and Alex Buffum, the starters, hit the court and through a stellar combination of plays, faked out, out-scored, and stole from the Hawks again and again, and did the same thing to North Sound Christian Friday, beating North Sound 64-36. In the first quarter alone against North Sound, the Lobos led 31-8.
“North Sound will probably finish third in our league, maybe tie for that spot with Tulalip,” Buffum commented.
But Lummi, coming up for Lopez, will be where the team shows its colors.
“First quarter is our best quarter; our intensity drops in the fourth quarter. and we never win a quarter after that,” Buffum said. “That’s got to change against Lummi.”
The Lobos play Mt. Vernon Sophomores on Tuesday, at Mt. Vernon, and against Lummi at home on Friday, Jan. 15.
