— by Ed Sutton —
All good things come to an end. And so it was for the Orcas Vikings basketball teams.
Both the men’s team and the Lady Vikings returned to Sedro Wooley on Monday, Feb.16, for the continuation of the District playoffs which lead to the regional round of the 2016 State Basketball Playoffs.
On Friday and Saturday of last week, the teams had secured victories over Concrete and Darrington to set up a rematch for the Lady Vikings against Friday Harbor, and a contest for the men’s squad with LaConner.
The women tipped off first and battled hard against the Wolverines, a team that they had faced three times previously this season. The final score of 31-54 eliminated the Orcas team from the playoffs. Coach Greg Sasan expressed his appreciation for the teams’ efforts and looks forward to next season when all but three of the team will likely return. Seniors, Lilly Miller, Emma Minnis, and Halle Thompson played their final game for Orcas High School.
The men’s squad, coached by Cory Wiscomb played an inspired game, leading the LaConner Braves 16-8 at the first quarter break. The Braves began an impressive comeback led by a senior guard who scored 40 points. The final score of the men’s game was 61-70 which also eliminated the Vikings from the District playoffs. Orcas senior guard Pasha Bullock played his last game, scoring 8 points. The Orcas starters, Jordan Randolph, Aiden Kruse, Brother Murphy, Miles Harlow and Vanya Bullock are all underclassmen and will provide a formidable nucleus for the 2017 squad.
Interestingly, the expanded middle school programs in basketball as well as soccer and baseball will feed more knowledgeable and experienced players into the high school programs. Such was not the case in earlier generations.
And so, another season of Orcas Island basketball is history. Spring is coming (as is Christmas) and these same student athletes will soon represent the school and the community on the baseball fields. GO VIKINGS !
