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Boys basketball
GOOD LUCK - La Conner High School basketball player Tyler Cicotte receives a fist bump from honorary Braves' coach David Alvord before tipoff of last Friday's game at Concrete. The league contest, won by the Braves, was part of the "70-Plus Years Celebration" of the opening of Concrete's gymnasium. La Conner played Concrete in the very first game at the gym. The teams have competed for a century.
The La Conner Braves slayed Lions twice in hoops action last weekend.
La Conner defeated the NW2B/1B rival Concrete Lions 59-31 on the road Friday, then returned home to Landy James Gym Saturday for a 67-52 non-league win over the Sound Christian Academy Lions.
With the wins, the Braves improved to 8-4 overall and 2-0 in league play.
Ivory Damien (24) and Brayden Pedroza (23) combined for 47 points at Concrete, which was celebrating the 72nd anniversary of the opening of its storied gymnasium.
There was little about the game itself, however, that Concrete could celebrate.
The Braves recorded a dozen steals on the night and used their fast-paced transition game to open an early 23-7 lead.
From there, the team never looked back.
When the Braves weren't converting layups off steals, the visitors proved deadly from long distance.
Damien drained a game-high four three-pointers and Pedroza knocked down three perimeter treys.
Corran Eisen added eight points, twice delivering from three-point range.
Logan Burks and C.J. Edwards contributed two points each. In addition, Burks grabbed four rebounds and dished an assist. Edwards finished with two rebounds and orchestrated the half-court attack.
Trevor Howard led Concrete with eight points.
Beats Sound Christian Soundly
The script was much the same Saturday when La Conner hosted Sound Christian, formerly known as Tacoma Baptist, a perennial small-school power.
Damien and Pedroza again supplied scoring punch, each able to find the hoop from both inside and beyond the trey arc.
Pedroza had a game-high 27 points, including eight of nine free throw attempts. Damien meshed two three-pointers enroute to a 21-point effort.
Eisen (7), Tyler Cicotte (5), Edwards (4), Jimbo Bobb (2) and Kamein Lopez (1) also landed in the scoring column.
Sound Christian's 6-4 post A.J. Alexeev topped these Lions with 17 points. Makai Resseau chipped in another 13.
La Conner trailed 15-13 early in the second quarter before taking control of the game, forcing the taller Sound Christian team to play at an uptempo pace. The hosts closed with a 20-10 run to go in front 33-25 at intermission.
The Braves twice held leads of 18 points in the final stanza. They led 56-38 on a Pedroza breakaway with 4:25 to play. A Damien transition bucket put them up 58-40 at the 3:45 mark.
La Conner staved off a late Sound Christian rally by hitting seven free throws down the stretch, four by Pedroza.
"To get out of here with a 15-point win over a very good Sound Christian team is big," first-year Braves head coach Lance Lopez told the Weekly News afterward. "After being down 11-9 in the first quarter, we figured things out pretty well."
The Braves entertained league foe Friday Harbor on Tuesday and resume their home schedule this Friday against non-conference opponent North Mason.
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