After a sluggish start, the Oak Harbor High School boys basketball team ramped up its defense and dominated the boards in a 68-37 rout at Marysville Getchell in the regular season finale Wednesday, Feb. 1.
The fifth-seeded Wildcats (7-9, 7-13) will play at the second-place Wesco school in the opening round of the district tournament Wednesday, Feb. 8, at 7:30 p.m. Shorecrest, Shorewood and Glacier Peak are all still in the running for that berth; each has one game left.
This will be Oak Harbor’s second consecutive trip to district after a 12-year gap and the first time since 1992 and 1993 it qualified in back-to-back seasons.
Marysville Getchell (1-14, 1-18) took advantage of an uneven start by Oak Harbor and led 14-9 after the first quarter.
The Wildcats wiped away the deficit in just over a minute as Kevawn Brooks scored twice and JoJo Webster took a long feed from Dayne Herron for a fast break hoop and a 15-14 lead.
The Chargers recovered to go up 20-18, then in a span of two minutes and 20 seconds, Oak Harbor blitzed MG 16-0. That led to a 36-21 cushion for the ‘Cats at a the break.
In the second half the onslaught continued, even into the fourth quarter when coach Mike Washington Sr. played only one starter.
After playing three consecutive opponents who held decisive height advantages, Oak Harbor cleaned up the boards, 55-16, against the smaller Chargers and outscored Getchell 20-0 in second-chance points.
Brooks (11) and Herron (10) led the rebounding assault, while the Washington brothers, Drew (23) and Mike Jr. (14), led the scoring.
Brooks added seven points, Herron four, Webster nine, Matt Burgoyne five, Zach Gibbs two, Elias Whitefoot two and Chris Hailer two.
Coach Washington said the game turned when “we picked up the defensive intensity in the second quarter.”
He added, “Elias played good defense, showed good intensity; Dayne rebounded well; and Drew played well, it was good to see him be aggressive.”
The only blip for Oak Harbor was turnovers. The Wildcats committed 25 to the Chargers’ 12.
Oak Harbor shot 46.6 percent (27-for-58) while holding Getchell to 25.5 percent (12-for-47).
