A sloppy first quarter came back to bite the Oak Harbor High School boys basketball team as it fell in overtime 45-44 at Shorecrest Friday, Jan. 7.

With the loss, the Wildcats (1-5, 2-10) sit with Lynnwood (1-5, 2-9) at the bottom of the Wesco 3A standings; Shorecrest (4-2, 7-5) moved into third.

Next in line for Oak Harbor is first-place Glacier Peak (6-0, 9-3) Tuesday, Jan. 11, in Oak Harbor at 7:30 p.m.

Against Shorecrest, Denzel Massey and Mike Washington Jr. hit buckets to put the ‘Cats up 4-0. Then Oak Harbor committed six consecutive turnovers and the Scots went up 9-4. The Wildcats had just 10 turnovers in the game, but the first-quarter lapse allowed Shorecrest to grab a lead it would hold until late in the contest.

The Scots led 14-8 at the end of the first period and 19-15 at the half.

In addition to the miscue-heavy first quarter, the Wildcats compounded their problems by shooting poorly – only 22.7 percent in the first half. Oak Harbor missed a dunk and an uncontested lay-in. It also had two four-shot possessions with a trio of contested put backs at point-blank range that would not fall.

The Wildcats kept themselves in the game with a strong offensive-rebounding performance and taking care of the ball after the six-turnover first quarter. Oak Harbor finished the game with 12 second-chance points to the Scots three.

Two baskets by Stevie Bratt and another from Washington Jr. and Oak Harbor cut the lead to two, 23-21, with 5:25 left in the third quarter.

Shorecrest’s Keith Shattuck snuffed the Oak Harbor rally by drilling back-to-back three-pointers, giving the Scots their biggest lead of the night, 29-21, with 4:23 left in the third.

The Wildcats rallied again.

Drew Washington answered Shattuck by hitting two treys to help Oak Harbor slice the gap to 33-29 heading into the fourth quarter.

A hoop by Bratt off a nice pass from Drew Washington, a Washington Jr. basket set up by a steal and assist from Massey and two Bratt free throws helped Oak Harbor finally even the score at 35 with 4:26 left.

Shattuck sank two free throws. Oak Harbor missed on its possession, but its hustling defense forced a Scot shot-clock violation with 2:50 on the clock.

Washington Jr. scored off a pass from Massey to knot it at 37 with 2:23 left.

Jay Stout’s steal gave Oak Harbor a chance to take the lead, but Oak Harbor turned the ball back over to Shorecrest, allowing Trevor McCoy to score.

The Wildcats, down 39-37, missed, but another steal by Stout and a feed to Washington Jr. for a fast-break bucket finished the scoring in regulation with 1:20 left.

Each team had two more chances for the win in regulation by failed to score.

Oak Harbor and a great opportunity for the win but a long pass to a wide-open Washington Jr., who got behind the Scot defense, sailed over his head and out of bounds with two seconds left.

Overtime stated with the two teams trading baskets, then Shorecrest hit two in a row to go up 45-41 with 29 seconds left. Washington Jr. drilled a three from the top of the key to bring the Wildcats within one with 14 seconds left.

Oak Harbor was forced to foul, and the strategy worked, except the ‘Cats couldn’t grab the rebound. On the Scot miss, two Oak Harbor rebounders collided and knocked the ball out of bounds.

The Wildcats fouled again with 7.8 seconds left. Again the Scots missed, but Shorecrest snagged the rebound. The Wildcats fouled again with 5.6 seconds left.

For the third time, Shorecrest failed to hit the free throw, this time Oak Harbor secured the rebound, but Washington Jr.’s desperation shot from three-quarters court failed.

Washington Jr. led Oak Harbor with 20 points and added six rebounds.

Bratt had 10 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks. Trace Paul added two points and eight rebounds, Drew Washington had six points, Massey four and Stout two. Kevawn Brooks snared six rebounds and had four blocks.

Shattuck led the Scots with 17 points.

Oak Harbor finished the game shooting only 28.6 percent (18-for-63), including hitting only three of 16 three pointers. The Scots shot 34.7 percent (17-for-49).

The Wildcats out rebounded Shorecrest 44-39, with a 17-10 edge on the offensive boards, and committed two less turnover (10 to 12).