La Conner Boys' defense cracks Acorns for 69-51 basketball win

Coming off his selection as the Skagit Valley Herald Boys’ Athlete of the Week, La Conner’s Brayden Pedroza provided Braves fans an impressive encore at Landy James Gym Friday night.

The junior guard dazzled with an array of shots on his way to a game high 33 points, 10 of which came in the pivotal fourth quarter, to lead the hosts to a 69-51 non-league win over 1B Oakville.

Pedroza found the hoop on slicing drives through the paint, mid-range jumpers, three-point bombs and at the free throw stripe where he converted five of six attempts.

But as good as Pedroza was – which was plenty – it was hardly a one-man band for the team in its double-digit takedown of the talented Acorns and their imposing front line size.

In addition to Pedroza, five other players made the nets sing.

Corran Eisen delivered 12 points, including a pair of perimeter treys. Ivory Damien, in foul trouble early, finished with a flourish, scoring seven of his 11 points in the final stanza.

C.J. Edwards, matched Eisen with two three-pointers, in tallying nine points. Jarrett Hatch and Logan Burks chipped in two points apiece.

Fueled by a tenacious full-court press that forced repeated Oakville turnovers in the backcourt, La Conner closed with a decisive 25-11 run in the fourth period.

“Overall, it was a great team win for us,” first-year coach Lance Lopez told the Weekly News afterward. “Defensively, we turned up the pressure and found a way for us to use our athleticism.

“When we get after it and run,” he added, “good things happen for us.”

The transition game was just enough to offset a splendid outing by post Courtney Price, who paced the Acorns with 32 points. Only two of those, however, came in the fourth quarter when the Braves’ press limited opportunities for Oakville to set up its half-court offense.

Price did most of his damage on low post moves and putbacks, especially in the second frame, when he scored all but three of Oakville’s 17 points.

Despite the 18-point final margin, the fast-paced contest was a back-and-forth affair much of the way.

The score was 35-35 midway through the third quarter following a tip-in by Burks and two free throws from Oakville’s Eddie Klatush.

Pedroza responded with consecutive 15-foot jumpers, Eisen drained a trey and Edwards broke free for a layup as La Conner built a 44-40 lead going into the fourth quarter.

From that point, the Braves never looked back.

The team opened the decisive period with a 12-2 spurt with Pedroza and Edwards accounting for six points each.

The Acorns got no closer than 57-47. With the loss, the Acorns fell to 3-2.

The win came six days after a tough loss at 2A Kingston.

“We didn’t have any games this week until tonight,” Lopez said, “so we ran a lot and worked on our conditioning this week to get ready for this game with Oakville.”

La Conner hosted 1B Neah Bay on Monday and visits 1A South Whidbey Friday.

Oakville, located southwest of Olympia was fortunate to make the game. The Acorns bus was caught in Friday afternoon I-5 traffic slowed by a freeway collision, delaying its arrival by 45 minutes.

Pedroza and the Braves made interstate travel seem like a walk in the park, however.