When you lose a game you really wanted to win and probably could have won, it’s best to focus on the big picture as the Blaine boys realized after falling to Oak Harbor, 72-52, on Monday, Jan. 19.
The defeat dropped the Borderites to 4-11 overall and 2-8 in the Northwest Conference. It was especially frustrating since the visiting Wildcats came in with only a marginally better record and are now 5-10 overall and 3-6 in the NWC.
“We’re going to have to lock in as a team and try harder than we did,” said senior Landon Melton, who led the Borderites with 23 points despite playing on a sprained ankle. “But it’s not the playoffs yet.”
Ah yes, the playoffs. Because the Northwest Conference is made up of teams from three different classifications, each has its own playoff system. For Blaine and the four other smallest schools, all of them automatically qualify for the Class 1A district tournament in February.
And while the Borderites are currently in 13th place in the 16-team league, they are still in third place among the five 1A teams, which means they would avoid a loser-out play-in game between the fourth- and fifth-place finishers.
“It’s challenging being a 1A team in a 1A/2A/3A league,” said Blaine coach Chas Kok. “But this is a good opportunity for us to mesh (before the playoffs).”
And while a 20-point loss never looks or feels good, Kok wasn’t frustrated with his team’s play against the 3A Wildcats.
“We played extremely hard, and we didn’t back down,” he said of the physical game. “I was happy with the way we played.”
The Borderites fell behind, 30-15, when Oak Harbor went on a 13-0 run to start the second quarter. They managed to cut the margin to eight several times in the third quarter and had a chance to get it down to seven in the fourth period, but it was not to be.
“I thought if we made a three then we could still win it,” said Kok.
Unfortunately, the fourth period turned out to be a little too physical — at one point there were as many fouls called as points scored — and the Borderites could only make one field goal in the quarter, and their eight points weren’t enough to mount a comeback.
Melton had two 3-pointers among his 23 points, but the rest of the team only managed two 3s and 29 points. Junior Gus Dickson muscled inside for 10 points despite being in foul trouble much of the first half, and senior Daniel Banks added 6 points, but no other Borderite had more than three points.
Oak Harbor, meanwhile, hit nine 3-pointers, four of them by senior Bryson Harris. The Wildcats’ leading scorer, however, was their all-league guard Xavier Ochoa, who had 30 points.
The road doesn’t get any easier for the Borderites, who head to Lynden for a Thursday game against the Lions. The Wildcats return to Whatcom County on Wednesday when they visit Ferndale for an important 3A battle.
Oak Harbor 72, Blaine 52
Oak Harbor 17 19 19 17—72
Blaine 15 12 17 8—52
Oak Harbor: Lewis 4, Harris 19, Ellis 3, Waldron 1, Jones 8, Lowery 2, Jackson, Esvelt 5, Williams, Ochoa 30.
Blaine: Kerwin 3, Briner 3, Banks 6, Dahl, Dohner 3, C. Brown, L. Brown 2, I. Bouma, Melton 23, P. Bouma 2, G. Dickson 10.
