Wildcats slip by Arlington, 62-61 | Boys basketball

There was a bit of irony at the end of the Oak Harbor High School boys basketball game Friday, Jan. 29, but that was secondary to the outcome, a thrilling 62-61 Wildcat win over visiting Arlington.

“It’s about time we won one of those close ones,” coach John Weston said.

The win-starved Wildcats broke a seven-game losing streak, which included three last-minute conferences losses. One was in overtime to Arlington Jan. 12 when the Eagles had to hit a buzzer-beating three-pointer to force the OT.

Three years ago, Dyllan Harris and Donovan Sellgren represented the future of Oak Harbor basketball. Both earned varsity letters, a rarity at a 3A school; however, Sellgren moved to Arlington his sophomore year.

Fast forward to Friday night, and the former teammates played significant roles in the frantic finish.

After Oak Harbor pushed its lead to eight, 53-45, with five minutes remaining, Sellgren fueled the Eagles’ comeback. He hit the first and last baskets and two free throws in the middle of a 12-4 run that tied the game at 57 with 2:27 left.

Oak Harbor’s Josh Cote swished a three-pointer with two minutes left, then Sellgren struck again, knotting the game at 60 with 50 seconds remaining.

Oak Harbor took possession at the 25-second mark and handed the ball to Harris, who attacked the hoop and was fouled with 7.9 seconds remaining. The senior knocked down both free throws.

Sellgren raced the length of the floor and, like Harris, attacked the rim and was fouled. With 3.3 seconds left, he connected on the first but missed the second, allowing Oak Harbor to pick up its first Wesco North win of the season.

The Wildcats, sparked by an enthusiastic crowd centered around the spirited OHHS band, flew to a 19-5 first-quarter lead. Both teams played at an uptempo pace, and both struggled to finish. Oak Harbor led 4-2 with 5:30 remaining in the opening period, then the teams failed to score for nearly three minutes.

A three-point play by Harris helped get the Wildcats going, and Oak Harbor tallied 15 points (10 by Harris) in a two-and-a-half minute span while the Eagles remained cold.

Arlington made several mini-runs to cut into the Oak Harbor lead, which shrank to five, 32-25, at halftime.

Oak Harbor never trailed but never lead by more than eight in the second half. Arlington cut the deficit to three several times in the third quarter and trailed by four, 47-43, going into the final period.

A three-point play by Harris and a three-pointer by Sean Erskine at the shot-clock buzzer helped Oak Harbor take its 53-45 fourth-quarter lead, setting up Sellgren’s performance to get Arlington back into the game.

“It was a really good team effort,” Weston said. “I am really happy with our resolve.”

“Sean did a good job inside, Josh was really consistent throughout the night and Dyllan hit some big shots and gave us momentum.”

Harris, with four three-balls, scored 28 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to pace Oak Harbor.

Erskine added nine points and seven rebounds, and Ozell Jackson collected seven points and seven rebounds.

Cote and Adam Nelson finished with six points each, Diangelo McKinney had four and Savion Hollins-Passmore two.

Sellgren topped Arlington with 20 points, including sinking four three-pointers. The Eagles connected on 11 from beyond the arc in the game.

The win kept Oak Harbor in the hunt for the final Wesco North playoff spot with three games remaining.

The top four team advance, and Oak Harbor (1-6, 2-15) is in fifth, two games behind Arlington (3-4, 7-10).

Oak Harbor plays Marysville Getchell (1-6, 7-10) at 7:15 p.m. at home Monday, Feb. 1, goes to Marysville-Pilchuck (5-2, 6-10) at 7:15 p.m. Friday, Feb. 5, and finishes the regular season with Everett (4-3, 7-10) at home at 7:15 p.m. Monday, Feb. 8.

(Left, Oak Harbor’s Savion Hollins-Passmore handles the pressure of Arlington’s Aaron Carlson.