Braves push 2A Kingston but fall 64-56

The La Conner Braves basketball team are true road warriors.

The team followed its convincing 65-44 NW2B/1B triumph at Orcas Island Dec. 5 with another all-day trip on Saturday – this time to 2A Kingston on the Kitsap Peninsula and likewise requiring a ferry ride.

It was neither smooth sailing on rainy, wind-swept Puget Sound nor in the Buccaneers’ gym for the travel-weary Braves, however.

Kingston was able to withstand another big scoring night by La Conner’s Brayden Pedroza, the Skagit Valley Herald Boys’ Athlete of the Week, to post a 64-56 victory.

Pedroza finished with a team-high 22 points, but it wasn’t quite enough for the Braves to secure a second straight road win – this time against a foe from a school with a much larger enrollment than La Conner’s.

C.J. Edwards (9), Jimbo Bobb (8), Ivory Damien (6), Tyler Cicotte (5), Logan Burks (4) and Corran Eisen (2) also joined the La Conner point parade.

“We had a long travel week,” first year La Conner head coach Lance Lopez told the Weekly News on Sunday. “But the boys played hard. We just couldn’t get the ball to go in last night.

“We’re battling illness,” he added, “but we’ll get back to work and get ready for our next game.”

The Braves (2-3 overall, 1-0 in league) host Oakville this Friday in a 7 p.m. tipoff. The Acorns, out of the Central 1B League, started the week with a 3-1 ledger.

Lopez is hopeful this week’s relatively light schedule, with only Friday’s game, will allow the team to recharge their batteries.

“I’m really excited how hard we’re playing right now,” he said. “I’m excited for the rest of the season. The coaches are happy with how the boys are getting used to the new offense and defense that we run.”