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La Conner Brave’s Terrence Fornsby takes a shot from the air during the match with the Concrete Lions at the Bi-District contest on Saturday. – Photo by Amylynn Richards
La Conner High head coach Scott Novak knew going in that beating Friday Harbor for a Regional berth would be a tall order.
And, in the end, the Braves did indeed come up short in a Bi-District loser-out clash in Sedro-Woolley on Saturday.
La Conner was defeated 48-29 by the taller, more rangy Wolverines, none of whose starters stand under 6 feet tall.
That length posed serious issues for the Braves, who finished the campaign 18-5 overall, including one win in three meetings with Friday Harbor.
The Wolverines won the game that mattered most, though, doing so almost before fans got settled in their seats.
Friday Harbor bolted to an early 15-3 first quarter lead and never looked back.
The Wolverines seemed able to contest every La Conner shot, whether in the paint or beyond the trey arc.
Nor did they yield much in terms of second-shot opportunities.
The victors held La Conner to under 30 shot attempts during the rare matinee affair. The Braves hit 11 of 27 attempts for a respectable 40 percent clip but were just four of 26 on three-pointers.
And La Conner needed to hit treys to help off-set Friday Harbor’s size advantage, especially that posed by 6’-6” junior frontliner Kyle Jangard.
Short of that, the Braves were banking on drawing fouls and cashing in at the charity stripe.
That didn’t work, either.
La Conner hurt itself by converting just three of 13 free throws.
Friday Harbor, by contrast, was 15 of 36 from the floor and 13 of 19 at the foul line.
“Their length definitely bothered us,” Novak allowed. “It was hard for us to get anything going.”
Rather than a repeat of their second pairing, when the Braves edged Friday Harbor at Landy James Gym, the rubber match was more reminiscent of this year’s first NW2B matchup between the longtime rivals.
“We were a little tentative in that first meeting,” Novak said prior to Saturday’s tipoff. “In the second game, at home, we were ready from the start.”
Not so, this time around, as the quick — and ultimately insurmountable — double-digit deficit attests.
Friday Harbor’s Peter Strasser, who entered the game averaging 18 points per contest, led all scorers with 17 points. Luke Stromburg added nine more for the Wolverines.
Jangard and Bill Revercomb chipped in seven points apiece for Friday Harbor.
Erick Reinstra paced La Conner with eight points, including a long second quarter trey that briefly pulled the Braves within 22-11.
Cameron Hansen finished with seven points for the Braves.
La Conner earned the right to face Friday Harbor a third time after having split earlier Bi-District games with Concrete and Auburn Adventist.
La Conner crushed Concrete 75-32 behind 24 points from Taylor Ebersole and 11 each by Reinstra and Wilson Crawford.
The Braves fell 52-37 to eventual Bi-District champ Auburn Adventist, a game that saw Hansen score 15 points and dish off four assists.
Hansen is one of eight Braves due to return next season from a very young roster.
La Conner loses seniors Ebersole, Crawford, Reinstra, and Zach Harris to graduation in June.
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