The South Whidbey High boys basketball team ended their season with the best record —10-11 overall — since 1994 when the Falcons went 16-6.

That was the good news.

Foul problems and the absence of two key players meant South Whidbey unfortunately had little chance against Shorecrest — they lost 41-27.

The Highlanders took an early 15-5 lead, 27-9 at the half, and maintained it allowing them to advance to the 3A District 1 tournament.

“The bottom line was the same song they played all year — they just didn’t shoot the ball well,” Falcon Coach Andy Davis said.

Robbie Blake, Chad Anderson and Eric Stallman fouled out in the second quarter so younger players such as freshman Chris Carey and sophomore Kyle Asay came off the bench.

That, plus the loss of Josh Gulvin and Parker Barnett to earlier injuries, made it a long night.

“Our offense wasn’t there on Saturday,” Anderson noted. “And, yeah, we could have used our big guys.”

The Falcons held the Highlander offense to six in the third and actually outscored them in the fourth by four points. But the handwriting was on the wall.

“It was a great year to be on this team. The chemistry was there, we depended on each other and had a lot of fun,” Anderson said.

“They played hard, with spirit, right to the end,” the coach added. “Everyone got minutes and had the chance to taste what it’s like in the playoffs.

“We still feel good about the season. We had a very good team; the guys really enjoyed playing with each other. And it’s always nice to see younger players do well,” Davis said.

Senior Ian Ward also missed his tall teammates.

“Josh and Parker are both very physical and Parker was really getting into his groove. I was proud of our effort in the second half,” Ward said.

“This was my favorite year to play basketball for South Whidbey. Absolutely,” he added.

Senior Duncan Adams led with 11 points on the night, Ward had four and Blake Blakey three.

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