It wasn’t the prettiest night for the Squalicum boys basketball team against Bellingham, but a win is a win. Especially in the playoffs.
The Storm survived the first round of the postseason, winning 39-38 against their inner-city rival.
Both offenses got off to a slow start and neither would really find a solid rhythm throughout the entire game.
The Bayhawks led 10-9 after one quarter and after trading baskets with the Storm for much of the second quarter, the game was tied 23-23 at halftime.
Bellingham sophomore Wyatt Stephan and junior Henry Sheldrup found themselves in foul trouble early in the second half with four each, forcing them to sit in critical moments of the game.
Despite that, the Storm still had trouble finding the basket and weren’t able to pull ahead. The Bayhawks led 32-31 after three quarters.
Neither team could pull away in the fourth quarter as turnovers plagued both teams.
“We were trying not to get too high or too low and stay really focused and solid,” Squalicum coach Tyler Hannigan said. “It’s about doing the little things right.”
Storm junior Nick Watt got an easy layup with seven minutes left in the game to pull ahead 33-32. It wound up being the basket that gave Squalicum the lead for good in the game.
Junior Ashton Engelhart drained a 3-pointer off the bench to put the Storm up four, Bellingham missed important free throws down the stretch and the Bayhawks’ final attempt for the win wouldn’t fall, putting an end to their season.
The Storm move on to the double-elimination part of the tournament and have a matchup with top-seeded Lynden Friday.
Senior Leyton Smithson led the Storm with 11 points. Watt scored eight and senior Kaleb Hawkinson added six.
For the Bayhawks, Stephan scored a game-high 13 points while Sheldrup had 11.
Smithson said having so much to play for made the win even more satisfying.
“There’s a lot more on the line with a game like this with it being our rivals and our season,” Smithson said. “It just makes it even sweeter it was against Bellingham.”
The Bayhawks had gotten the best of the Storm in the regular season in a 57-50 win.
Hannigan said they adjusted their personnel to match up better with the Bayhawks.
“We put a little more focus on some of their shooters and their big guy is always going to attract a little more attention,” Hannigan said. “We were able to make some small adjustments like that. It was still a scratch-and-claw kind of game, but it was nice to come out of it on the right side today.”
Bellingham ends its season with a 5-10 record overall and 3-9 conference record.
Squalicum will travel to Lynden Friday. A win puts the Storm in the district quarterfinals and a loss would put them in the consolation bracket, but with a chance to extend their season.
