Oak Harbor beats Lakewood, falls to Mount Baker / Boys basketball

A strong fourth quarter helped the Oak Harbor High School boys basketball team to a 51-44 win at Lakewood Friday, Dec. 2, but a day later, a faulty finish contributed to a 74-41 loss to visiting Mount Baker.

Oak Harbor 51, Lakewood 44

With the game tied at 39, the Wildcats finished on a 12-5 run to secure the win.

“Lakewood was really physical,” coach John Weston said, “and we were able to match that.”

The Cougars’ aggression got them in trouble in the fourth quarter, and Oak Harbor took advantage by sinking 11 of 14 free throws — eight by Adam Nelson — in the period.

For the game, Oak Harbor hit 23 of 33 foul shots; Lakewood was 10-for-12.

Six different Wildcats scored in the first quarter, and Oak Harbor led 15-14. The lead was 27-24 at the break, but Oak Harbor managed only 5 points in the third quarter and the teams were tied at 32 heading into the final frame.

Lakewood (0-1) tried to beat the Wildcats from long range. The Cougars made only 12 field goals in the game, and eight of those were three-pointers.

Nelson finished with 14 points, one more than Gabe Salinger. Ozell Jackson had 7, Haven Brown 5, Justin Ellison 4, Ty Baker 3, Weston Whitefoot 3 and Gavin Allen 2.

“We really improved from out first game,” Weston said. “Once we started to get the momentum, we played well.”

Mount Baker 74, Oak Harbor 41

There was no strong finish this time around. The Wildcats were down by only seven at halftime, 42-35, then scored just six points in the second half.

In fact, the Wildcats made only one field goal after the break, and that came with only 44 seconds remaining in the game.

Mount Baker led 12-9 after one period, then the teams combined for 56 points, along with 32 fouls and 25 free throws, in the second quarter.

Oak Harbor trailed 19-13 early in the second quarter and then started to break Mount Baker’s press to go up 30-29 midway through the period. From there, Oak Harbor struggled to score the remainder of the contest even though it continually got to the rim, unable to finish.

Mount Baker (2-0) buried Oak Harbor in the third quarter by outscoring the Wildcats 25-2.

“We weren’t executing the way we wanted to,” Weston said. “We would make a mistake and another would follow.”

One bright spot, Weston noted, was that his defense took seven offensive charges in the game.

Nelson scored 10 points, JJ Mitchell 6, Salinger 5, Brown 4, Baker 3, Jackson 3 and Whitefoot 2.

Nine Mountaineers scored, six with 7 or more points, led by Grant Balvanz with 22.

Oak Harbor (1-2) goes to Mount Vernon (2-1) at 7:15 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 6, and hosts Sedro-Woolley (1-1) at 7:15 p.m. Friday, Dec. 9, in two more non-league games.

Ozell Jackson scores for Oak Harbor Saturday. (Photo by Jim Waller)

Ozell Jackson scores for Oak Harbor Saturday. (Photo by Jim Waller)

Adam Nelson goes to the hoop on a break away against Mount Baker. (Photo by Jim Waller)

Adam Nelson goes to the hoop on a break away against Mount Baker. (Photo by Jim Waller)

Gabe Salinger appears to by putting the ball up through the net, but he is actually shooting a jumper, which he made, from the far side. (Photo by Jim Waller)

Gabe Salinger appears to by putting the ball up through the net, but he is actually shooting a jumper, which he made, from the far side. (Photo by Jim Waller)