Shorecrest ousts boy Falcons

An ugly first-half performance replete with turnovers turned what could have been a solid return to the playoffs into an exercise in frustration for the South Whidbey boys basketball team.

Playing Shorecrest High School for a sixth-place seed into the District 1 3A basketball tournament, the Falcons were harried and harassed into a 10-point first half as the Highlanders stole the ball at will and built an insurmountable 16-point first-half lead. They went on to beat the Falcons 54-44. With the loss, the Falcons are out of the playoff hunt.

On their home court, the Highlanders targeted South Whidbey’s top scoring threat, Dustin Sidhu, and kept almost every Falcon ball handler out of the lane for the opening 16 minutes of play. Against heavy, full-court pressure, Sidhu was able to carry out his duty as point guard with few misses, but once the ball left his hands, the Highlanders had little trouble taking it away and turning it into points.

The Falcons did manage to fight back in the second half, but were unable to make the progress they needed to come back. They went toe-to-toe with the Highlanders in a 16-16 third quarter, then made up some of the distance in the fourth, outscoring their opponents 18-12. At the same time, the Highlanders continued to contain Sidhu — who had just seven points on the night after going scoreless in the first half — and kept even the team’s scoring leader on the night, junior Josh Gulvin, to 10 points.

The Falcons end the 2004-05 season with a 6-15 record. The Highlanders, who move on to district play this week, are now 5-16.

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