Fantastic finishes

  • Mike Cane, Herald Writer
  • Thursday, January 10, 2008 2:24pm
  • Sports

It’s pretty rare to see a basketball game decided by a buzzer-beating shot. Sometimes I go an entire season without witnessing one.

That’s why Tuesday night was so special. Four Western Conference boys and girls games came down to a buzzer-beater or a last-second basket. Here’s a quick recap of the close clashes, starting with the contest I was at:

*Zach Wilde’s buzzer-beating putback gave the Snohomish boys a 53-52 victory over Lake Stevens.

*Mary Ochiltree’s buzzer-beating, off-balance 3-point shot lifted the Lake Stevens girls past Snohomish, 44-41.

*Meadowdale’s Evan Matteson made a jump shot with 1 second to go in the Mavericks’ 50-48 boys triumph against Kamiak.

*David Sullivan’s putback at the end of the second overtime period gave the Jackson boys a crazy 95-93 win versus Shorewood.

A few other amazing things stand out about these suspenseful games.

First, Shorewood’s Stuart Harvey exploded for a school-record 54 points in his team’s loss against Jackson. None of Harvey’s points came on 3-pointers. The senior guard came into the game with a previous single-game high of 20 points and a scoring average of 11.2 points.

Also, all four down-to-the-wire Wesco games ended with anguish for the home crowds. The visiting team prevailed in every one.

Tonight I’ll be in Mill Creek for the Edmonds-Woodway vs. Jackson boys game. Can a youthful but gradually improving Jackson team (5-2 Wesco South, 6-5 overall) pull off its biggest victory yet against a surging, experienced E-W squad (6-1, 9-2)?

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