Visiting teams normally don’t fare very well playing basketball at CSAS, but don’t tell anyone from Silverdale.
The visiting Seahawks played toe-to-toe with the Patriots for four quarters and even forced an overtime period, but the game belonged to the hosts as they prevailed 71-61 in the opening District 5-A contest for both schools.
CSAS improves to 2-1 overall and 1-0 in 5-A while Silverdale is now 4-3 overall and 0-1.
“We had the last run tonight and that was the difference in the game,” said CSAS coach Mark Dragoo once the final horn had sounded.
“We haven’t played man defense all year and this was just our third game, so that may have played a role, but it was our first game at home and I liked the way we finished.
“We need to get better defensively and we need to make better decisions on offense, but Silverdale just kept fighting back. We have plenty of stuff to work on in practice tomorrow,” the veteran coach added.
Silverdale coach Slater Belew loved the way his guys competed, but the gas tanks were simply on empty for that last four-minute stretch.
“I thought we came out aggressive, but this is a tough place to play and especially when you have two freshmen out there,” Belew suggested.
“These CSAS guys feed off the crowd and that makes it tough, but overall, we played really hard tonight. Those guys are so quick and athletic that we were just worn down in the overtime period.
“I’m really proud of Brannon Walls for making that last shot to force the overtime. The good news is that my guys never give up, but we made too many turnovers. I kept reminding my guys that they have to come to our place later in the season,” Belew nodded.
Jameel Dodds scored on a putback at the buzzer to give the Patriots a 43-42 lead with one quarter remaining.
CSAS then scored the first 10 points of the final stanza and it looked like the issue might be settled at that point, but the Seahawks refused to toss in the white towel.
That 11-point spread was reduced to 55-51 after Ian Johnson nailed a jumper from the line with 3:30 to play and it was 56-53 just 27 seconds later after Walls scored on a drive down the lane.
Darius Graves hit the first of two free throws with 26 seconds left as the hosts were up by 59-56, but Walls knocked the bottom out from the left corner to knot the score with 10 ticks remaining.
Graves got a final shot at the buzzer, but his eight-footer from the wing bounced off the rim as the horn sounded.
The overtime period belonged to the hosts as they scored nine unanswered points for a commanding 68-59 lead following a layup by Miguel Hamilton with 57 seconds left.
Johnson’s two free throws three seconds later were the only points the Seahawks would score as the Patriots escaped with their first district win.
Graves finished with 16 points to lead the Patriots while Cahlib Edwards and Hamilton were also in double figures with 15 and 10 points, respectively. Hollis Edwards was next with nine while Dodds finished with eight.
Walls scored 22 points to lead Silverdale while Johnson was next with 15. Christian Rogers added 10.
CSAS also won the rebound battle by an unofficial 35-29 margin. Jordan House only scored five points, but he was the man on the glass with 11 caroms. Graves snagged nine while Hamilton finished with six.
Jordan Sanders had eight rebounds for Silverdale while Rogers had seven.
SILVERDALE GIRLS 43, CSAS 35: Lamiah Walker scored on a drive down the lane at the start of the fourth quarter to get the Lady Patriots within two at 32-30, but Katie White and Rachel Sanders sank back-to-back buckets for Silverdale and CSAS never got any closer than four the rest of the way.
The Lady Seahawks sank four of six free throws in the final minute to preserve the victory.
Emily Harkleroad had 19 points to lead the Silverdale effort while White was next with 10.
Lennex Walker and Lamiah Walker both had 10 points for CSAS.
Silverdale is now 5-2 overall and 1-0 in district play while CSAS is 0-3 and 0-1.
GIRLS SUMMARY
SILVERDALE 7 16 9 11 -- 43
ARTS & SCIENCES 8 10 10 7 -- 35
SILVERDALE (43) – White 10, Caldwell 3, Ray, Harkleroad 19, Woodard 1, Sanders 3, Carter 2.
CSAS (35) – Hampton, Le. Walker 10, La. Walker 10, Harris, Randolph 7, Mayes 3, Fugh, Justice 5.
3-POINT GOALS: Silverdale 3 (White 2, Harkleroad); CSAS 2 (La. Walker, Randolph).
BOYS SUMMARY
SILVERDALE 14 16 12 17 2 -- 61
ARTS & SCIENCES 17 12 14 16 12 -- 71
SILVERDALE (61) – Crockett, Johnson 15, Walls 22, Mossburg 4, Hannah 2, King, 2, Gibson 2, Sanders 4, Mench, Rogers 10.
CSAS (71) – Clark, Edwards 15, Hamilton 10, Dodds 8, Sterling, Graves 16, House 5, Edwards 9, Cameron 6, Pulliam 2.
3-POINT GOALS: Silverdale 6 (Johnson 2, Walls 3, Mossburg); CSAS 4 (Edwards 2, Graves, Cameron).
(Email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@gmail.com)