Spartans keep Wildcats winless

History inched closer Friday night.

Unfortunately for the Oak Harbor boys basketball program, it’s not the kind of history it wants to celebrate.

A 75-59 home loss to Stanwood dropped Oak Harbor to 0-18 and put the Wildcats in danger of their first known winless season.

Although it’s not official, several affiliated with the OHHS basketball program over recent decades couldn’t recall the boys ever going a full season without a win.

“I don’t know if I really want to know if it’s ever happened,” OHHS head coach Bryan Schulle said.

Friday’s final home game against the Spartans got off to a rough start for the Wildcats, who never once had the lead.

OHHS only hit 1-for-5 of its first shot attempts and turned the ball over seven times in the first quarter. Stanwood built a 9-2 advantage only two minutes into the contest by nailing four straight shots from four different players.

It wasn’t that Oak Harbor wasn’t executing its offensive game plan early, it just couldn’t convert.

The Wildcats hit 5-of-19 (26 percent) shot attempts in the first half and 8-for-20 (40 percent) on free throws, resulting in a 29-18 halftime deficit.

“I thought we executed our offense fine,” Schulle said. “We just didn’t shoot the ball particularly well from the field or the free throw line.”

Offensive production went up for Oak Harbor in the second half, but it never went down from Stanwood.

“We couldn’t afford to be trading baskets,” Schulle said.

Trailing by 19 with 6:30 to go in the game, the Wildcats still had one more run left.

In a span of two minutes, Oak Harbor hit five straight shots, including three pointers from Will Lopez and Dallas Heidt and two breakaway slam dunks from Marc Ferguson.

“Everybody got excited and fed off the crowd and that got me fired up,” Ferguson said.

Ferguson’s one-handed dunk at the 4:10 mark of the fourth, pulled OHHS to within 59-48, but that was as close as they got.

Stanwood sealed the game slowing down its offense and hitting 7-of-9 free throw attempts in the final minutes.

In his final home game, Ferguson led the Cats with a game-high 27 points. Junior Chris Hughes added nine, while sophomore James Leach put in eight.

Friday’s game also marked the last home contest for seniors Bryce Waller and Raheem Maddox.

The Wildcats faced Mount Vernon on the road last night and take on Marysville-Pilchuck on the road tomorrow, Feb. 17 for their final game. Both opponents are vying for top spot in the WesCo North, which will make them tough, but could also make them vulnerable.

“They have something to play for so they might be a little tense,” Schulle said.

Ferguson looks forward to the challenge.

“We’ve got nothing to lose,” he said. “If we can’t make the playoffs maybe we can spoil somebody else’s season.”

So close

Schulle, who picked up six technical fouls last year, earned his first of the season on Friday night at the 3:57 mark of the second quarter.

“I was hoping to make it through the year without one,” he said.

After hounding the referees early in the quarter, a technical was finally whistled on what Schulle insisted was a play call he had shouted to his players.

Stanwood 15 14 20 26 — 75

Oak Harbor 7 11 15 26 — 59

Scoring — Oak Harbor: Ferguson 27, Hughes 9, Leach 8, Waller 7, Heidt 5, Lopez 3. Stanwood: Kaufman 18, Boehme 17, Anderson 12, Welk 12, Crayford 4, Gambill 4, Contreras 3, McCutchen 3, Monroe 2.

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