It took some extra time, but the Oak Harbor High School boys basketball team won its second consecutive game by nipping visiting Marysville Getchell 55-49 in overtime Tuesday, Jan. 7.

The teams were tied at 41 after regulation, then the Wildcats outscored the Chargers 8-2 in the first 90 seconds of overtime to wrestle control.

Oak Harbor trailed early in the game but roared back behind a barrage of three-point buckets. Elijah Smith came off the bench to hit consecutive threes at the end of the first quarter to knot the game at 10.

Then Drew Washington opened the second period with three straight treys and the Wildcats had the game’s biggest lead, 19-10.

The Chargers steadily came back, trimming the gap to 23-20 at halftime and eventually taking a 29-25 lead in the third quarter. MG led 31-30 after three periods.

Dyllan Harris hit two baskets, the second and three-pointer, and Zach Gibbs knocked down three shots and Oak Harbor led 39-35 with 2:27 left in the game.

Marysville Getchell countered with two hoops by Nathen Grimm to go up 40-39 with 52 seconds left.
Gabe Groenig scored for Oak Harbor 18 seconds later, then Grimm hit the second of two free throws to even the score at 41 with 15 seconds left.

The Wildcats had the last possession in regulation but couldn’t convert.

The first part of overtime was all Oak Harbor. Washington snagged the tip and raced to the hoop for two points. Gibbs then scored off an offensive rebound. After Getchell converted two free throws, Washington scored twice more and the ‘Cats led 49-43.

In all, Washington scored 11 of Oak Harbor’s 14 points in overtime and finished with a team-high 22 points.

The Wildcats were aided by four missed free throws by the Chargers in a nine second span in OT.

Oak Harbor has now won two straight after dropping the first eight games. In both wins, the Wildcats controlled the boards, this time out-rebounding Marysville Getchell 48-34 and allowing only nine offensive rebounds.

Washington and Groenig scooped up 12 rebounds each, Gibbs had eight and Harris seven.

Washington also had five assists, three blocks and two steals.

Gibbs had 13 points, Harris eight, Groenig six and Smith six.

Grimm led the Chargers (0-4, 1-10) with 23 points.

Both teams were content with firing from long range. They combined to shoot 111 shots, and nearly half, 55, were from beyond the arc. Oak Harbor hit seven of 27, 25.9 percent; and Getchell was 7-for-28, 25 percent.

Overall, Oak Harbor shot 32.7 percent (17-for-52) and Getchell 35.6 percent (21-for-59).

Coach Mike Washington acknowledged the play was sloppy at times but “a win is a win.”

He said, with a lack of depth, his players get tired, which leads to physical and mental mistakes down the stretch.

Part of the ragged nature of the game, coach Washington added, was because of Getchell’s full-court press: “It was one of those weird games. We couldn’t really get into our offense and sets because it was a transition game.”

The game also followed a similar scoring pattern as the Oak Harbor girls game with Sedro-Woolley the night before on the same floor. That game, too, ended 41-41 in regulation. The Cubs went on to win in overtime 56-48, nearly matching the boys score of 55-49.

The Oak Harbor boys modest two-game win streak will be tested when the Wildcats (2-2, 2-8) host ninth-ranked Mountlake Terrace (3-1, 8-2)  at 7:15 p.m. Friday, Jan. 10. The game begins a four-game stretch against the rugged Wesco 3A South.