Bellingham boys basketball stunned Anacortes 73-64 on their home court Thursday, Dec. 19, the Bayhawks first win against the Seahawks since the 2020-21 season.
“All league wins are big but 2A wins for 2A teams is big,” Bellingham coach Brad McKay said. “Micah Dickinson and Jake Andrew are really good players. Anacortes is tough and they have great tradition.”
The Bayhawks relied on 6-foot-3 forward Joe Harward and 6-foot-5 guard Kincade Vanhouten. Harward finished with 27 points, four rebounds and three assists, while Vanhouten had 20 points and 13 rebounds.
“We definitely want to get those two the ball,” McKay said. “The more we get them going to the basket, the tougher they are to stop.”
Vanhouten led the Bayhawks to an early six-point lead in the first quarter but Anacortes remained within a four-point margin throughout the eight minutes. With about a minute remaining, Anacortes’ Brennan Morgenthaler tied the game at 20-20.
The Seahawks took their first lead within seconds of the second quarter. However, Bellingham’s Calvin Van Hofwegen made a 3-pointer to give the Bayhawks the 23-22 lead. Both teams traded baskets until Andrew got hot late in the second quarter, giving the Seahawks a 32-28 halftime lead.
Andrew finished with 29 points, four steals, two rebounds and two assists. He scored nine of those points early in the third quarter to extend Anacortes’ lead to eight points. Yet, Harward and Van Houten scored six straight points to make it 44-42 with three minutes left in the third quarter.
Bellingham defeats Anacortes for first time in four years
Harward took over late in the third quarter and early in the fourth to give the Bayhawks a 52-51 lead. Bellingham followed with a 10-0 run and jumped all the way up to a 67-57 lead.
With a few minutes remaining, Bellingham looked to secure an easy win. But, Anacortes refused to back down.
“It was funny because we did something different with the 10-point lead,” McKay said. “We thought we could just bring in our free-throw shooters, give them the ball, they can hold it and get fouled. Anacortes trapped it and didn’t foul so our guys panicked and threw it away.”
Bellingham led 69-64 with a minute left and Myllo Wright hit the game-winning free throws with seconds remaining. Bellingham (4-1) will host Marysville-Getchell at 7:15 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 21. Anacortes travels to Central Washington University on Dec. 27 to face Liberty Bell.
Nick Zeller-Singh is CDN's sports reporter; reach him at nickzellersingh@cascadiadaily.com; 360-922-3090 ext. 104.
