Falcon hoopers squash Sequim

The Wolves from Sequim came to town Saturday ready to teach the Falcon boys basketball team a thing or two, but were sent away with their tails between their legs with a South Whidbey whupping, 69-54.

The Falcons are 2-1 overall in the Cascade Conference.

Coach Andy Davis was pleased, but reserved. “Defensively we were a little shaky; we gave up a lot of easy buckets in the fourth quarter,” he said.

OK, coach, but with a 72 percent shooting average in the first half, didn’t he have to be happy?

“Oh, yeah, the guys did real well,” Davis said.

Senior Josh Gulvin scored first. Duncan Adams and Chad Anderson followed shortly and the Falcons were off to the races.

But Wolf senior guard Ben Webb was able to elude his South Whidbey defenders and the gap narrowed by the break, 20-17.

Adjusting the interior defense helped and the Wolves were held to just 10 in the second quarter. That put the Falcons in front, 41-27, at halftime.

Gulvin’s furious half-court break seconds after the second half began propelled South Whidbey to an unanswered five straight minutes of scoring.

On the sidelines, Wolf Coach Matt Thacker was seen muttering to himself as the display of Falcon fierceness continued. Junior Robbie Bailey fell to the floor in pursuit of the ball in a faux pas de deux with a Wolf opponent, a nod to Nutcracker fans just down the hall.

South Whidbey pulled ahead 57-36 at the break.

By this time, the Wolves were dejected, depressed and, in the end, defeated 69-54.

“We all did well as a team, ran our plays and executed,” Gulvin said. “That’s what you need to win. (Wolf senior guard) Ben Webb shot well but we contained him most of the time.”

But junior Chad Anderson thought the offense needed work.

“We need to tighten up and be a little more patient,” he said. “That would give us more control to play our own game.”

Anderson also noted how “pumped up the guys were to play before a home crowd.”

This is Anderson’s third year on the team.

“If we keep playing like we did against Sequim, we’ll do all right,” he said.

Gulvin led scoring with 23 points (including one three-pointer), followed by Anderson with 17 (two from outside) and Adams with 16 (also two from Trey Town).

The boys are at Kings on Friday, then return home to host Liberty Bell, 7 p.m. Saturday at Erickson Gym.

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