The Ferndale boys basketball team outscored Anacortes in three of the four quarters of their physical battle on Tuesday night, Dec. 9.
Unfortunately for the Golden Eagles, there are four quarters and a disastrous third period led to their 74-56 loss to the Seahawks.
It was the Northwest Conference opener for both teams — the first game of the season, in fact, for Anacortes — and it kept Ferndale winless in three games.
“We’re just three games into the season,” said Ferndale coach Luke DuChesne. “We want to be playing our best ball in January.”
For the first 16 minutes Tuesday, it looked like the Golden Eagles were playing their best. They matched the physicality and quickness of the Seahawks and were hitting inside and outside shots on the way to an impressive 33-26 halftime lead.
“The first half was electric,” said DuChesne. “We moved the ball well, our defense was real solid. There was some good stuff there.”
“We played with intensity,” said Ferndale senior forward Mantaj Singh, who led the Golden Eagles with 16 points and 3 steals.
But then came the third quarter.
Suddenly, the Golden Eagles couldn’t handle the Anacortes fullcourt press. After four straight turnovers and four straight Anacortes buckets, the lead was gone. After 15 more Anacortes points in a row, Ferndale was down 49-33 … all in just over five minutes.
“I haven’t seen anything like it,” said DuChesne. “It was like we hadn’t played basketball before. We didn’t play for 32 minutes, and you can’t do that against a team like that. You can’t do that against anybody.”
“We had like 30 turnovers and that’s unacceptable,” said Singh, the team’s veteran who wasn’t afraid to accept the blame. “I have to be a better leader. (Tonight) we learned we have to play with adversity and you have to respond.”
While Anacortes’ 23-0 run against a good Ferndale team may seem strange, it was not the most bizarre thing that happened in the Eagles’ Nest on Tuesday. Twenty seconds into the fourth quarter, the game was stopped because of water on the court.
And no, it wasn’t from the overflowing Nooksack River but rather from a leak in the roof. With one player already having slipped, the officials halted the game, and after discussing it was the coaches, decided to move the game.
So, for the second time in a week, the Northwest Conference had a varsity game moved to an auxiliary gymnasium. Except this time, unlike last week’s Lummi Nation-Lakewood game, there would be no tie because of a power outage.
Playing in the tight confines of basically the C team’s home court in front of a limited audience on just one side of the gym — there wasn’t even room for the cheerleaders — the Golden Eagles outscored the Seahawks again in the fourth period, cutting the lead to 11 twice in the waning minutes before coming up short.
Sophomore guards Tracen Pazaski and Houston Wills showed why DuChesne has them in the starting lineup. Despite the Seahawks’ pressure, Pazaski had 13 points, three 3-pointers, and 8 rebounds, and Wills had 12 points, a pair of 3s, and 5 assists. Senior guard Kaveer Dhillon added 8 points.
Despite the disastrous quarter, neither the Ferndale coach nor his all-league forward were disheartened. Both were eager to get back on the court Wednesday, when the Golden Eagles travel to Mariner in a non-league contest.
“We just have to flush this down and get after it tomorrow,” said Singh.
“We’re young and we have to learn from this,” said DuChesne. “If one domino falls the right way, we can get this turned around.”
Anacortes 74, Ferndale 56
Anacortes 14 12 31 17—74
Ferndale 18 15 5 18—56
Anacortes: Houston 2, S. Roberts 19, G. Willoughby 3, L. Roberts 18, Harrington 2, Patt 2, W. Willoughby, Morganthaler 2, Cummings 4, Dickison 22.
Ferndale: Singh 16, Pazaski 13, Wills 12, Vincent 4, Boleak 3, Baader, Dhillon 8, Munson.
