Braves start league play with strong 72-48 win

Friday Harbor missed the boat when it came to getting its NW2B/1B boys' basketball season off to a good start.

In hindsight, the Wolverines would have fared better had they literally missed the boat – their ferry ride from San Juan Island – to face La Conner in the conference opener for both teams at Landy James Gym Friday night.

The home team, behind superb perimeter shooting and relentless full-court defensive pressure, sank Friday Harbor 72-48 in an impressive league debut.

"We played hard," Braves coach Lance Lopez told the Weekly News afterward. "We played a solid team defensive game. For us, everything starts on the defensive end."

Their suffocating defense forced repeated Wolverine turnovers leading to momentum-building transition baskets for the victors.

The Braves, 3-2 overall, drained 12 treys, five by senior forward Corran Eisen, who finished with 23 points.

Brayden Pedroza paced the team with 28 points. The crafty senior guard knocked down a pair of three-pointers. He was also effective off the dribble, often driving into the paint to hit short jumpers or earn trips to the foul stripe.

Tyler Cicotte, another senior, chipped in 11 points, all but two coming from beyond the arc. Freshman guard Keaton Bailey came off the bench to deliver six points on two three-balls.

Senior point guard C.J. Edwards, who orchestrated the fast-paced attack, added four free throws.

La Conner offset a great effort from Friday Harbor senior guard Pierce Kleine, who led all scorers with 34 points. Kleine tallied 20 of his total after the break.

The Braves bolted to an early 12-2 lead behind a barrage of treys from Eisen, Cicotte and Pedroza. The halftime score was 37-17.

With a comfortable lead, Lopez was able to substitute liberally in the second half. All 11 Braves suited for the contest saw playing time. It would have been 12 but junior guard Hadden Zimmerman is sidelined with a knee injury suffered last week.

Developing roster depth early in the season has paid dividends.

"The boys are really starting to come together," Lopez stressed.

La Conner converted 10 of 15 charity tosses. Friday Harbor went seven-of-13 from the stripe.

The La Conner girls' team, meanwhile, had its Dec. 13 home matchup with Friday Harbor postponed due to cancellation of the late ferry from the San Juans.

After hosting NW2B/1B rival Orcas Island on Tuesday, La Conner teams host non-conference foe Lakewood tomorrow (Thursday) starting with junior varsity matchups at 4:30 p.m.

The Dec. 19 girls' JV clash is scheduled at the middle school gym. The boys' junior varsity game will be at Landy James Gym.

The La Conner and Lakewood girls' varsity teams tip off at 6 p.m. with the boys' varsity pairing at 7:30. The varsity games will be at Landy James Gym.