Sweet Revenge: Boyd Buchanan Downs Silverdale, 53-47

Lady Seahawks Stay Perfect In District With Win Over Boyd Buchanan

Saturday, January 27, 2024
Gray Deyo

It was a packed house Friday night at the Silverdale Center as people crowded the bleachers early to feast their eyes on a much-anticipated district basketball rematch. Just four days ago the two schools played each other, with both the girls’ and boys’ games going down to the wire. The Silverdale girls’ team would go on to win that matchup 55-52, while the Silverdale boys came out on top of an overtime thriller 65-64.

The intensity that was felt at Boyd Buchanan’s gym that night was all but absent come 6:00 P.M in the heart of the Seahawks’ campus.

The Silverdale girls’ team would go on to win their sixth game in a row against Boyd, 53-38, while the Silverdale boys' team would go on to lose only their second game of the season to the Buccaneers, 47-53.

The second quarter of the boys' contest had the feeling of awaiting the final tick time bomb. Silverdale’s fans were sitting and waiting for the Seahawks to take over the game. Senior guard, Noah Reid of Boyd Buchanan defused any chance of this happening in the first half solely off his hustle. Reid picked off three passes in the quarter and converted all three into layups. His presence on defense did enough to stymie the Seahawks' flow during the quarter.

“He means everything to our team, he’s kind of the guy that makes us go, said Bucs head coach Kenneth White.

Reid certainly had a major impact on the game and was a huge reason for the Buccaneers 21-13 lead at the end of the first half.

Coming into the second half, Silverdale noticeably turned up their intensity, especially on the defensive end. The lanes that Boyd had to the rim were now shut off, and if a lane opened up, the Seahawks’ junior forward, Kennedy Okpara, was somewhere lurking waiting to block a potential shot attempt. The uptick of Silverdale’s play on both sides of the court provided them with a 32-27 lead at the end of the third quarter. The Seahawks outscored the Bucs 19-6 in the quarter.

Headed into the fourth period, Boyd Buchanan just refused to give up. Sophomore wing, Hudson Jones, put in some solid minutes in the quarter. He recorded all five of his points in the final period of play and helped keep the Bucs in the game. Other teammates stepped up as well.

The Bucs fought and dug, then fought some more, and then dug some more, and eventually found themselves with a 47-42 lead with just under two minutes left. The Seahawks, however, were quick to trim Boyd’s lead to a one-possession game with a three coming from Okpara on the wing. Okpara would finish as his Silverdale’s leading scorer with 12 points.

With the score shining 45-47 on the massive Silverdale Center scoreboard, the Seahawks were right back in it. With an empty Buccaneer possession following Okpara’s three, the boys in green and white had a chance to take the lead. They brought the ball down court for an open look at a three from, maybe the best clutch shooter on the team, Brett Wright. Wright would let one fly from near the top of the key. It was a shot Seahawks’ fans have seen him make numerous times, but this time the leather would hit the back of the rim and bounce out. Boyd would rebound the missed shot and freshman guard Asa Fortune would put in a layup with 1:07, to make it a two-possession game once again.

Silverdale would have a couple more chances to get back in it but were officially closed out of the contest with a pair of Reid free throws. The Bucs’ win would give Silverdale its first district loss of the year.

Although it seemed like the odds weren’t in their favor for this matchup, coach White was not surprised by the outcome of the game. “I’m gonna be honest with you I’m not surprised at all. Our team has a lot of figh” he said. “We took over this program and some guys that we were expecting to play, didn’t play. You know the guys who stuck it through are battle-tested, and they want to be here. We put them through the wringer in the preseason for games like this, and we feel like they were prepared to do it.”

All the sprints and weightlifting sessions coach White put his team through before the season were definitely worth it. The Buccaneers are 12-2 in their last 14 games, and with just three games left till the postseason, Boyd Buchanan is in great form.

SILVERDALE GIRLS 53, BOYD BUCHANAN 38: The Silverdale girls were able to avoid any sort of another close contest, as they maintained a comfortable lead throughought the entire game. Lady Seahawks’ freshman guard Kinsley Owen, stole the show, scoring a team-high 14 points. And as much as Owen brought to her team offensively, she brought even more defensively. She was always getting her hand on any loose ball, while playing stellar man-to-man defense. Her play was key in the Lady Seahawks maintaining an undefeated district record.

“Kinsley is a great kid. She’s 14 years old, she’s ran the point guard for us for two years now. Once she figures out that she’s as fast as she is, and no one can keep her in front of them she’s gonna be dangerous, that’s what we have told her all year. Tonight is the first night I saw her just be a shooter first. She likes to be a distributor, and that’s great, but we really feel like she is a hard guard. To see her do that tonight was a step in the right direction,” said lady Seahawks head coach Victor Underwood.

GIRLS SUMMARY