It was difficult to determine who was more excited at the conclusion of Friday’s boys basketball game.

Under the direction of new head coach Mike Washington, the Wildcats had a lot of questions to answer in their first game of the season against Cascade.

In years past, the Bruins have been one of the stronger teams in the WesCo North division but after the first eight minutes of action, Oak Harbor left no doubt in anyone’s mind it was not going to repeat last year’s disastrous season when the Wildcats finished 2-19.

Rodrick Rumble scored six points in the first quarter as Oak Harbor took a 14-10 lead and the Wildcats never looked back, rolling to a 56-39 victory over the Bruins.

“I was really excited, we came out with a lot of energy and a lot of enthusiasm tonight,” Washington said.

In the second quarter Oak Harbor held Cascade to just two baskets from the floor and upped the lead to double digits, 28-17, at halftime.

“We ran the ball well and were able to get it inside,” Washington said. “James Leach, Dallas Heidt, Marshall Lobbestael, Rodrick Rumble and Caleb Koorn all stepped up, and Eric McCardle also did a good job coming in off the bench. All those guys played an excellent game.”

The Wildcats went on an 8-2 run late in the third quarter and with two minutes remaining, held a commanding 39-23 lead.

Back-to-back 3-point goals by David Benson and Drik Snell cut into Oak Harbor’s lead, but the Wildcats were still comfortably in front, 38-28, heading into the final period of play.

In the fourth quarter, Leach scored six points and Heidt added five as Oak Harbor outscored Cascade 17-10 to put the game away.

“I was just trying to be aggressive,” Leach said. “My shots were not falling in the first half, but I finally found the range.”

Leach led the Wildcats with a game-high 17 points.

“I was pretty rusty tonight and couldn’t get my shots to go down,” Heidt, who scored 12 points, said. “It feels good to start off with a win after all that losing last year.”

Rumble was the third player in double figures for the Wildcats with 14 points.

“I’m just so happy for the kids, this is a good start in the right direction,” Washington said.

Oak Harbor 77,

Cedarcrest 64

On Saturday, Heidt poured in 22 points, including three from downtown, with Leach adding 17 as Oak Harbor defeated Cedarcrest 77-64.

Koorn and Rumble were the two other Wildcats in double figures with 11 and 10 points respectively.

“Our defense was the key to winning tonight,” Washington said.

The back-to-back wins equal Oak Harbor’s victory total for the entire 2005/06 season.

The Wildcats play their next two games on the road against Arlington last night and at Kent Meridian Dec. 16, and return home to face Snohomish at 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 19.

Oak Harbor 56, Cascade 39

Cascade 10 7 12 10 — 39

Oak Harbor 14 14 11 17 — 56

Cascade (39) — Snell 5 2-2 13, Benson 4 1-2 10, Anthony Barton 4 2-3 10, Reading 1 0-0 2, Wilkins 1 0-0 2, Walker 0 0-0 0, Joyce 0 0-0 0, Zoeller 0 0-0 0, Chup 0 0-0 0, Perez 0 0-0 0. Totals 15 5-7 39.

Oak Harbor (56) — Leach 7 2-4 17, Rumble 6 2-2 14, Heidt 3 5-8 12, Lobbestael 3 0-0 7, Koorn 1 2-2 4, McCafrdle 1 0-0 2, Smith 0 0-0 0, Pegues 0 0-0 0, Dudley 0 0-0 0, Manni 0 0-0 0. Totals 21 11-16 56.

Three-point goals — Cascade 4 (Snell 3, Benson); Oak Harbor 3 (Lobbestael, Leach, Heidt).