SPOKANE — The No. 2 Lummi Nation boy’s basketball team came out in full form in its return to Spokane, defeating No. 8 Ocosta, 67-27, in the 1B state quarterfinals Thursday, March 6 at the Spokane Arena.
Just three minutes into the contest, Ocosta’s 6-foot-5 freshman rim protector Sonny Beard left the game with an apparent wrist injury, opening the paint up for the Blackhawks’ attack. Lummi took advantage and outscored Ocosta 42-8 in the paint.
Continuing to pave the way for the Blackhawks was junior guard Jerome Toby, who led the game with 25 points on 11-for-21 shooting. Beyond Toby, 10 out of the 11 members of the Blackhawks found the net.
Gallery: Lummi boys roll in quarterfinals
“Everybody got in, the fans were inspired, the kids were inspired. We got great support for one another and I think that’s the strength of our team,” Blackhawks head coach Jerome Toby said. “This group’s unselfish.”
Last year, the Lummi Nation boys rolled into Spokane on fumes as the No. 1 seed, battling both injury and illness. This time, their cylinders are all firing. Now the Blackhawks (24-3) will face No. 5 Neah Bay at 9 p.m. Friday, March 7 with a championship berth on the line.
Lummi Nation last faced Neah Bay in the tri-district tournament Feb. 22 and won 61-46.
A previous version of this story misstated the final score. This article was updated at 5:18 p.m. on March 7. Cascadia Daily News regrets the error.
Finn Wendt is a CDN visual journalist; reach him at finnwendt@cascadiadaily.com; 360-922-3090 ext. 122.
