Braves blast Concrete; fail to scale Mt. Baker

There are ugly wins, but few pretty losses.

A rare example of the latter, though, might have been La Conner’s 77-55 non-league home hoop setback to 1A power Mount Baker on Saturday.

The double-digit defeat looked much better in hindsight, at least from the perspective and through the lens of Braves’ head coach Scott Novak and his staff.

“The Mount Baker game,” Novak said Sunday, upon reflection, “looks like we got blown out, but other than one stretch in the first quarter when we went from being down 16-11 to 28-11, we played them pretty well.”

Throw out the early 12-0 Mountaineer run — one fueled by Mount Baker’s imposing front line — and La Conner’s 22-point loss doesn’t look all that bad, said Novak.

“I really feel like we got something out of that game,” he insisted. “I think it’s always better to play a really good team than a patsy.”

Budda Luna paced the Braves with 20 points, 12 in the first frame.

T.J. Bass, whom Novak fondly calls “Big Nasty,” was one of five Mount Baker players to score in double figures, finishing with 13 points.

The fact it was a non-conference game that came on the heels of La Conner’s 57-42 NW2B triumph over Concrete gave Novak the opportunity to try different player combinations.

Freshman Charlie Cram, who hit a deep trey, was among La Conner players who saw increased minutes against Mount Baker.

“Charlie,” said Novak, “came off the bench and played with a lot of poise.”

Terrence Fornsby likewise took advantage of added playing time. He scored eight points and dished off six assists.

Luna, in addition to leading the Braves’ point parade, reeled in six rebounds and collected six steals.

The problem for La Conner, however, was finding a way to stop Bass.

“He hurt us quite a bit when we played them up there last year,” Novak said. “He’s a great player, the kind of guy who always plays with a chip on his shoulder. I definitely like the way he plays.”

Trouble is, he saves some of his best outings for La Conner. And Saturday was no exception.

The story was much different 24 hours earlier when the Braves smashed Concrete behind 22 points from Luna, 11 by Scott Lindeman, and another 10 courtesy of Fornsby.

Jeffrey Johnson, who grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds, finished with seven points for the victors.

Brady Nelson chipped in another six, including a perimeter trey.

James Hulbert rounded out the Braves’ scoring with a free throw.

“We probably didn’t play our best against Concrete,” Novak conceded, “but in the fourth quarter, when we needed to finish strong, we went to Budda and got the job done.”

La Conner closed with a 15-6 spurt in the final stanza.

The Braves, 2-2 overall, host league rival Orcas (3-1) today (Wednesday) at 2:30 p.m. in a rare mid-week matinee tipoff. La Conner entertains Lakewood of the Northwest Conference Thursday at 7 p.m.