Braves avenge earlier league home loss to Orcas

So much for home court advantage.

The Orcas Vikings had routed La Conner by 25 points at Landy James Gym in December.

But the Braves were able to return the favor at Eastsound last week, posting a crucial 66-62 NW2B triumph that puts La Conner back in contention for the league title.

The victory, coupled with an earlier 62-32 blowout of Concrete, saw La Conner improve to 6-2 in conference action.

“It was a big win for us, no doubt,” Braves head coach Scott Novak said afterward.

His club figured to play better the second time around, having been minus leading scorer Budda Luna in the teams’ initial meeting.

Luna was brilliant in the rematch with 19 points, 11 rebounds, and six assists.

Terrance Fornsby scored a game-high 20 points for the victors, who offset a 19-point performance by Orcas sharpshooter Vonya Bullock.

Bullock had led all scorers with 25 points when La Conner and Orcas met last month.

La Conner, which has struggled at times with second half leads, was poised down the stretch at Orcas.

“The kids responded real well in the second half,” Novak said. “The key was taking care of the ball. We only had two turnovers after halftime. That meant we had more possessions, which led to more shot attempts and more makes.”

The Braves, with Luna and Fornsby combining for a dozen points, bolted to an early 18-6 advantage. Orcas rallied to inch ahead 33-32 at intermission as Cyrus Amour netted nine second quarter points, including a deep trey.

Orcas took a 51-49 lead into the final stanza.

That’s when Fornsby took over, draining three jumpers from behind the trey arc.

The Braves closed with a 17-11 spurt, aided by clutch shooting at the charity stripe.

Brady Nelson, who joined Luna and Fornsby in double-digits with 15 points, converted a pair of clutch foul shots in the late going.

Nelson posted similar numbers at Concrete, helping ignite the Braves with 11 first half points.

Fornsby, on the strength of three three-pointers, led La Conner with 17 points against the Lions.

Jeffrey Johnson added 14 points — all but five coming in the second half — while also reeling in a team-best 11 rebounds and blocking two shots.

The Braves capped a busy week with a heart-breaking — yet, at the same time, encouraging —home loss to 1A South Whidbey on Saturday. The Falcons pulled off the 53-52 non-league verdict on a 15-foot buzzer-beater by Kody Newman.

“It was a tough loss,” Novak acknowledged, “but a lot of good things happened during the game.”

La Conner trailed early, fought back to seize a 48-43 fourth quarter lead, then snapped a late 8-2 Falcon run via a Fornsby trifecta. That put the Braves on top 52-51 in the final seconds.

Turns out, that was just enough time for South Whidbey to escape with the win.

“They ran an in-bounds play,” said Novak, “and trailed a guy. He got the edge and put up a runner with a guy in his face, and it happened to go in.”

That guy was Newman, who tallied eight points in the final period. South Whidbey’s Lewis Pope led all scorers with 19 points.

Nelson continued his strong play of late, filling the stat sheet. He scored 15 points, grabbed five rebounds, and collected five steals.

Luna added 12 points, while freshman Charlie Cram delivered 11 points and five assists.

The Braves remained home Monday opposite 1A Lakewood and Tuesday against league rival Darrington. La Conner is at Mount Vernon Christian this Friday before hosting Shoreline Christian Jan. 30.

La Conner entered the week with a misleading 8-7 overall mark.

“We’ve had three games that we’ve lost by one point,” Novak noted. “And all of those were games that we should’ve won. Against South Whidbey, we made some mistakes, but there were a lot of positives.

“The good thing,” he added, “is that at Orcas, when it really counted, we didn’t make those mistakes.

If we keep improving,” Novak stressed, “we could be a very scary team come post-season.”