Tulalip Heritage overcomes nerves to start with win

YAKIMA – Playing in the first state tournament game in school history, the Tulalip Heritage Hawks were understandably nervous.

But only for a couple minutes.

The Hawks fell behind early then regrouped and dominated the rest of the way en route to a 73-45 victory over Oakville on Wednesday in the first round of the Class 1B boys basketball state tournament in the Yakima SunDome.

“I think the boys were a little overwhelmed early on,” Tulalip Heritage coach Leon Enick said. “(Oakville) had a 5-0 lead, then we got them refocused. The kids started breathing and remembered how to play the game.”

Tulalip Heritage outscored Oakville 39-20 the rest of the half, then blew open the game in the third quarter with a 19-5 run.

Junior forward Lesjar McKinney led the Hawks with 22 points and 11 rebounds. Junior forward-center Antonio Johnson contributed 16 points, eight rebounds and two blocked shots. Junior guard Jeff Monsegur added 14 points.

Enick praised the play of his defense, which used a triangle-and-two strategy to hold Oakville’s second-leading scorer, Zack Severs, to zero points.

Still, the Hawks were not at peak form, Enick said.

“It seemed we were a little sluggish,” he said. “It seemed we could have played better.”

The win advanced the Hawks (21-3) to the quarterfinals. They play Tri-Cities Prep, a 50-49 winner over Moses Lake Christian on Wednesday, at 5:30 p.m. today.

Oakville (12-11) fell into the consolation bracket.

At the Yakima Sundome

Tulalip Heritage21181915-73

Oakville1312515-45

Tulalip Heritage-McKinney 22, Miller 8, Wooster 6, Davis 2, Wasko 5, Johnson 16, Monsegur 14,. Oakville-Shelton 12, Boyd 14, B. Johnson 3, David Delk 3, W. Reinitz 7, D.J. Delk 3, T. Reinitz 3. 3-point goals-McKinney 4, Monsegur 4, Miller 1, Wasko 1, Johnson 1, Shelton 2, Boyd 4, David Delk 1, W Reinitz 1, T. Reinitz 1. Records-Tulalip Heritage 21-3. Oakville 12-11.

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