Warriors win Wesco South boys basketball title

Published 11:39 pm Thursday, February 7, 2008

EDMONDS — The Edmonds-Woodway boys basketball team didn’t need any help to lock up a division title.

The Warriors clinched the Western Conference South Division title with a thrilling 63-59 victory over Jackson on Thursday at Edmonds-Woodway High School.

Seniors James Conti and Connor Donaldson led the way for the Warriors on Senior Night, with Conti sinking a free throw then stealing Jackson’s inbounds pass in the final seconds and sinking a layin for the final margin.

“We didn’t want to give the championship to Meadowdale, our rival,” Conti said. “We really wanted this game.”

Had the Warriors (14-2 in league, 17-3 overall) been defeated by Jackson, they would have finished tied with Meadowdale, which beat Shorewood 64-39 on Thursday.

Because the Mavericks held the tiebreaker ­— Meadowdale swept the season series with Edmonds-Woodway, winning 51-40 on Dec. 7, 2007, and 61-55 on Jan. 12 ­— they would have been co-champions had Edmonds-Woodway lost.

Both Jackson (10-6, 11-9) and Edmonds-Woodway had previously clinched berths in the district playoffs, and regardless of Thursday’s outcome the Warriors enter the district playoffs as the South’s top seed because Meadowdale is a Class 3A team.

Donaldson had a game-high 20 points, including 10 in the first quarter, for the Warriors, who couldn’t quite shake the pesky Timberwolves during Thursday’s game.

“They’re playing awfully well and Jackson has some fine young players,” Warriors head coach Gail Pintler said. “It was a great game.”

Jackson held a 44-43 lead going into the final period, but a 9-3 run over the first five minutes of the fourth put the Warriors ahead for good — although the Timberwolves contested every possession and edged to within one before Conti’s final three points.

“We showed our experience,” Conti said of the Warriors. “They have a lot of sophomores and freshmen — really good players — but the two-three years our guys have been on varsity showed down the stretch in the fourth quarter.”

Jackson’s Brett Kingma sank a pair of 3-pointers sandwiched around a layin off a steal to give the Timberwolves a 44-37 lead — the largest margin either team enjoyed — with 3:50 remaining in the third period.

Kenan Polovina scored the final six points of the third to bring the Warriors to within one. Polovina had back-to-back putbacks off Antoine Wafer misses and he found himself alone in the paint with the ball for an easy layin at the buzzer.

At Edmonds-Woodway H.S.

Jackson13161515­—59­

E-W16141320—63

Jackson—Bray 9, Gay 3, Gootee 11, Kingma 18, Koch 7, Oh, Sullivan 8, Todd 3. Edmonds-Woodway—Conti 12, Donaldson 20, Enquist 1, Heard 1, McCartney 4, Ortiz 10, Polovina 12, Reilly, Wafer 2, Wilson 1. 3-point goals — Kingma 2, Goote 2, Bray 1. Records — Jackson 10-6 league, 11-9 overall. E-W 14-2, 17-3.

Polovina finished with 12 points for the Warriors.

“We’re lucky we stayed with them,” Pintler said. “At the end we had the big number, that’s what counts.”

Kingma finished with a team-high 18 points for Jackson and Josh Gootee added 11.

Gootee kept the Timberwolves in the game at the end of the first half, scoring nine straight points ­— including hitting two long 3’s.

Bryan Koch finished Jackson’s scoring with 40 seconds remaining in the second period, hitting a flat-footed shot from just inside the arc that pulled the Timberwolves to within one at 30-29.

Edmonds-Woodway beat Jackson in the first meeting between the teams, 69-55 on Jan. 10.

At Edmonds-Woodway H.S.

Jackson13161515­—59­

E-W16141320—63

Jackson—Bray 9, Gay 3, Gootee 11, Kingma 18, Koch 7, Oh, Sullivan 8, Todd 3. Edmonds-Woodway—Conti 12, Donaldson 20, Enquist 1, Heard 1, McCartney 4, Ortiz 10, Polovina 12, Reilly, Wafer 2, Wilson 1. 3-point goals — Kingma 2, Goote 2, Bray 1. Records — Jackson 10-6 league, 11-9 overall. E-W 14-2, 17-3.