Last year at this time the Lake Washington boys basketball team was looking up at most of the other teams in the division and struggling to earn wins. This year they are temporarily wearing the Crown of 4A KingCo.
The Kangs went into Inglemoor Friday and pulled out a 55-53 win to take possession of first place in the Crown division.
“This is the first time we have beat Inglemoor in how many years,” said Kang senior Alex Houghton. “This is big cause it means first place. We knew at the beginning of the year we had enough talent to be better.”
The victory also pushed their record in league play to 5-3, one more win than all of last season with seven games left on the schedule.
“All I hoped (for this season) was that they would work hard and play together,” said Kangs’ first year head coach Barry Johnson. “This is a big win, but we have a lot of work to do.”
The Kangs looked like less than a championship team to start the game, falling behind 12-4 on a 9-0 Inglemoor run during the first four minutes of the game.
We took quick shots and rushed things,” said Johnson. “We went to bucket timidly.”
But Lake Washington battled back, cutting the lead in half by the end of the first quarter.
The Kangs continued to chip away at the lead behind the rebounding of 6-foot, 10-inch sophomore Darien Nelson-Henry, whose put-back shot cut the lead to 22-20. The Vikings, who have become accustom to beating Lake Washington at home, finished the half with three consecutive baskets for a 28-22 lead.
Houghton scored from outside and was fouled on the shot during the opening minutes of the third. The senior finished the three-point play to trim the lead back to one point. But Inglemoor scored two quick buckets to pull away again.
A steal and missed shot by senior Dallas Searles was rebounded and put into the basket by teammate Ryan Guisness with two minutes left in the third quarter. The play gave the Kangs their first lead of the game 37-36.
Guisness would lead the Kangs in scoring with 19 points during the game.
Searles would extend the lead to three with a rebound and basket on the team’s next possession.
Turnovers cost the Kangs the short-lived lead. Inglemoor capitalized on the mistakes by going on a 10-0 run to claim a 48-39 lead and whipping the home student section into a frenzy.
But Lake Washington got their defense back as Nelson-Henry returned to the game, as the Kang faithful cheered.
The renewed energy allowed Lake Washington to give up just two more baskets down the stretch. A bucket by Houghton with 1:40 left in the game gave the Kangs a 50-49 lead that they would not relinquish.
“Coming from losing every year it is an amazing feeling,” said Searles. “But we have to stay humble and keep working.”
Six consecutive Lake Washington free throws clinched the victory. Nelson-Henry (12), Searles (12) and Alex Houghton (10) would all finish with double figures in scoring for the game.
“This really motivates us coming off the loss to Eastlake,” said Nelson-Henry.
The win came on the heels of a loss to Eastlake Tuesday, despite having four players score in double figures. But the goal of keeping Eastlake’s Michael Russo contained did not workout, as the Wolves won the contest, 67-65.
The team took a six-point lead into halftime before Russo torched the Kangs to finish with 33 points. Nelson-Henry (18), Searles (15), Guisness (14) and Matt Staudacher (10) led the Kangs on offense.
