By Micheal Rios, Tulalip News
On Saturday, February 20 the Heritage Hawks (15-11) traveled to Lummi Nation to take on our biggest rivals, the Lummi Blackhawks (16-8). The two teams were playing in the 5th place game of the Tri-District Tournament. Win and the season continues with a game at Regionals and a chance to continue to State, lose and the season is over.
The Hawks took two of three regular season games over Lummi with an identical score of 51-43 in both those wins. However, in that last matchup Lummi made some adjustments to their game plan and it payed off as they won big 78-54 over the Hawks.
In the 1st quarter, the Hawks were outscored 12-21. In the 2nd quarter, the Hawks would cut their deficit to only 4 points, but a Lummi run to close the half pushed the deficit to double digits. At halftime the Hawks trailed 22-33.
During the regular season, the Hawks defense had been able to contain the Blackhawks best player, Trazil Lane, through very good zone defense and a series of timely presses. But on this day Trazil wasn’t going to be denied as he set the tone in the 1st half with a couple dunks on his way to leading the game in scoring.
For the Hawks, their leaders Willy Enick and Robert Miles, did everything they could in the 2nd half to try to give their team the lead. They managed to cut the deficit to only 5 points, but every time they’d shrink that deficit Lummi would respond with an offensive run.
In the end, Lummi was just the better team on this day as Trazil Lane’s game high 31 points overshadowed Robert’s 20 points and Willy’s 14 points. The Hawks lost the game 54-66, ending their season.
The Hawks, with a final (15-12) record on the season, had a successful season overall. Losing four of five senior starts from last year meant many new faces this year who had little organized basketball experience. Leaning on the talents of current seniors Robert and Willy, the Hawks managed to finish 2nd in their league and placed 3rd at the District Tournament.
The sweetest win of the season came in the Tri-District Tournament when the Hawks defeated the Orcas Christian Saints, who had swept the Hawks 3-0 during the regular season, in a come from behind nail biter.
Just like last year, the Hawks will be graduating several players this spring. Dom Joseph, Robert Miles, Willy Enick, Terrence Phillips, Bobby Jeter, and Nate Williams are all seniors planning to graduate this spring.
Contact Micheal Rios, mrios@tulaliptribes-nsn.gov