SHORELINE — Not even a squabble over the score was going to warp this win.
Shoreline Community College continued its dominance at home by shocking first-place Whatcom 104-100 in an NWAACC North Division men’s basketball clash Feb. 15.
It was Shoreline’s fifth straight victory on its home floor and Whatcom’s first loss since Dec. 29. The Orcas won their first 11 league games and replaced reigning conference champion Tacoma at No. 1 in the latest NWAACC coaches poll.
“They just shoot better at home,” Shoreline coach Jeff Menday said of his all-freshman squad. “They don’t know how to take it directly to the hole on the road. I’d like to say it’s our defense. But it’s just that we shoot the heck out of it at home.”
The Dolphins never trailed after pulling ahead late in the first half but Whatcom managed to knot the score at 98-all with 1:10 remaining on Matt Birkle’s NBA-range 3-pointer.
Mandell Jones answered for Shoreline with a three of his own and Colin Waterton tacked on three free throws in the final 17 seconds to seal the upset. Waterton scored 17 of his 27 points in the first half and was 5-for-6 from 3-point range.
Jones also drained five 3-pointers and finished with 21 points. Despite a subdued first half, Sunri Nicholas registered game-highs of 30 points and 14 rebounds for the Dolphins. Jorge Williams added 16 points, seven boards and four assists and point guard Belay Araya collected seven assists, four steals and four rebounds.
As the final seconds ticked away, Williams took a pass from Jones and tossed the ball high toward the rafters, then joined the rest of his teammates at halfcourt in a celebratory huddle.
“For a bunch of guys who didn’t play much high school ball … this is like winning state for most of them,” Menday said.
The controversy over the score started midway through the second half when the Orcas began to cut into their 15-point deficit. Whatcom’s coaching staff argued that Shoreline was credited with a pair of free throws the Orcas made as part of a 13-2 run.
After reviewing the scorebook, it was determined that the score was correct — with the Dolphins in front 81-77 — and the cause of the confusion was the scorer’s lateness in awarding Shoreline two points for an earlier field goal.
But it didn’t end there.
The Whatcom crowd, which was easily three times the size of Shoreline’s, got in the act with an echoing “seventy-nine” chant — the score they felt the Dolphins deserved. Eventually, the tension died down as Shoreline stretched its lead back to double digits over the next four minutes.
With three games to go, the Dolphins (6-7 league, 8-14 overall) moved to within one game of Skagit Valley (7-6, 10-12) for the division’s fourth and final playoff berth. And it appears that Shoreline has the less demanding schedule.
While Skagit Valley’s final three opponents have a combined 24-13 league record, the Dolphins finish up against three teams that are a combined 13-24 and two of their final three games are at home.
Shoreline was scheduled to host Edmonds Feb. 19 and will travel to Everett Feb. 22 before closing out the regular season by hosting Peninsula March 1.
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