Coming into Friday’s game against Inglemoor, the Woodinville Boys Basketball team was looking for the win. They were looking for that game to spark momentum going into the playoffs.
Despite their efforts, they didn’t get what they had hoped for.
Losing to Inglemoor, 65-37, the Falcons just couldn’t keep up with the Vikings' skill and abilities.
Junior Tommy Wick started off the game well, hitting spot-on threes and hustling all over the court, but the poor team defense by the Falcons overall quickly caused problems for the team.
In addition to the poor defense, after senior Quinten Parker had to go out because of two quick fouls in the first quarter, it left the middle of the paint wide-open for Inglemoor’s quick guards.
Woodinville players struggled to find their groove and just when the Falcons seemed to be gaining at least a bit of momentum, an invisible lid always seemed appear on the basket.
The Falcons were getting shots up and had their opportunities, but nothing would go in. From point-blank missed lay-ups to just bad shot angles, it appeared that the game needed to become a game of defense.
The Falcons needed to make stops.
With the Falcons only being down 38-26 at halftime, the team knew there was a good possibility they could come back and steal the game.
However, the much-needed spark never came.
Except, for one moment in the fourth quarter when sophomore Mitchell Jones got the call into the game from the bench.
Using his speed and quickness to hustle up and down the court and steal the ball away on multiple occasions, Jones provided that sense of passion, desire and determination that the Falcons desperately needed.
This burst of energy from Jones ignited the energy on the bench and put the crowd back into the game.
Though this spark didn’t last very long, this burst of energy did show a little preview of what the future may hold for the Falcons in the coming seasons.
If more players played like Jones, the Falcons could be a dangerous team next year.
As the game was quickly getting out of hand with 6 minutes left to go, WHS Head Coach Mark Folsom made the decision to put his starting line-up back in to try and get something out of team, but his players just couldn’t get anything going.
It was again, another off night for the struggling Falcons. As Folsom would say, their identity is still in the works.
Their next step to finding their identity will be the playoff game against Garfield next week.
It will be a challenge, but one the players won’t shy away from.
The Falcons know they want to win; they just need to prove it for all to see.
