The Ferndale Golden Eagles notched a big win on Monday night at home, 58-55, over the Sehome Mariners. The win moved Ferndale to the number ten seed to the 3A boys district tournament. Ferndale first-year head coach, Luke DuChesne, got a win over his mentor, Sehome head coach Brad Jackson, who DuChesne assisted last season.
The Golden Eagles, behind the hot shooting of senior guard Bhavnoor Grewal, jumped out to a 10-1 lead over the Mariners. Sophomore Nolan Wright hit the first field goal for the Mariners at the three-minute mark of the first quarter. Grewal hit two 3-pointers on his way to ten first-quarter points.
The Golden Eagles lead reached 22-9 early in the second period, before the Mariners were able to chip away, cutting the lead to three by halftime. Sophomore post Cole Turrell muscled his way to seven points in the quarter for the Mariners.
The Mariners finally tied the score in the middle of the third quarter, but from an unexpected source. Junior guard Cooper McAtee nailed a 3-pointer from the left wing, just seconds after being inserted into the game for the first time.
The momentum was short lived, however, as the Golden Eagles took a five-point lead with 6:30 to play in the game. But McAtee scored on a drive and Wright hit a game-tying 3-pointer at the 5:30 mark.
Tied at 48-48, the Mariners took a five-point lead, with four of those coming on scores by senior forward Braddock Duckworth and Turrell. That was answered by a 3-pointer by Ferndale’s Lincoln Thomas and a lay in by senior guard Bishop Ootsey with two minutes left.
Grewal put the Golden Eagles ahead 55-53 with a short baseline jumper with 42 seconds left.
With Ferndale leading by three, Wright scored on a hard drive down the left side of the lane to cut the lead to one with 16 seconds left.
Thomas was at the line for Ferndale with 15 seconds left, but missed two free throws. However, junior forward Jonah Brillowsky saved the day by rebounding the miss. Ootsey was fouled, and sank two free throws, giving the Golden Eagles their final three-point lead.
The Mariners had 12 seconds to tie it, but the Ferndale defenders did not let the Mariner shooters get a clean look at a shot as time expired.
Wright took over in the fourth quarter for the Mariners when he scored 11 of his team-high 16 points. Turrell added 12 and Duckworth 11. The Mariners shot 8-26 at the free throw line.
Grewal shot well all night for the Golden Eagles, scoring 17 in the first half and 26 for the game. Sophomore forward Mantaj Singh went 3-4 at the free throw line in the fourth quarter and scored 11 points. Brillowsky and Ootsey finished with nine points each. The Golden Eagles were slightly better at the free throw line, hitting 9-18.
The win for Ferndale improved their NWC record to 5-5. They are 6-9 on the season, with their next three games all on the road at Mount Vernon, Lynden Christian, and Lynden.
Sehome fell to 5-6 and 8-8 and host their next two games against Lynden Christian and Lynden.
~ Ted House
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