Lucas Shannon is listed at 6 feet, 7 inches tall.
If the Skyline junior was 6-8, the result might have been different for the Spartans on Tuesday night.
Instead, a pass skipped off the fingertips of Skyline’s big man, resulting in a turnover, an Inglemoor layup at the buzzer, and a 47-45 defeat.
“We can make excuses all day long, but the bottom line is Inglemoor made the play at the end and won the basketball game,” Skyline head coach J. Jay Davis said.
With 18 seconds left, Skyline drew up a play in a timeout. Freshman guard Jonah Eastern got the ball in the hands of senior Kasen Williams at the top of the key. The defense collapsed on the athletic forward just as Davis hoped, but an attempted back-door pass skipped over Shannon’s head and off his fingertips.
“You just get the ball in the hands of the best athlete in the state and hopes he makes a play,” said Davis, of Williams. “He did that more often tonight than not.”
Senior guard Teran Togia saved the errant ball inbounds, but it went right in the hands of an Inglemoor player. With 5 seconds left, the Vikings pushed the ball the distance of the court to sophomore Cooper Dansby who banked in a short runner at the horn.
“We’re just really proud of the way our kids battled,” Davis said. “That’s a very good basketball team, very well coached.”
Tuesday’s game featured 13 lead changes and seven ties — nothing new for the Spartans, who have had 10 of their 14 games decided by six points or less.
“Most people age one year in a calendar year, I age three,” Davis joked.
Skyline jumped out to a 6-0 lead to start the game — the largest advantage by either team.
Inglemoor started to find a groove behind star guard Eric Bryant. The senior had all 10 of his points in the first half, helping the Vikings to a 20-18 halftime advantage.
Skyline fought back for a 33-32 lead after three quarters when junior Bryan Cikatz drilled a three-pointer with 2 seconds left on the clock.
Dansby, a sophomore, led Inglemoor with a varsity career high 12 points.
Williams led Skyline with a game-high 14 points, while Shannon had 10. Cikatz scored nine and Eastern had seven.
Junior starting guard Will Parker missed Tuesday’s game after spraining his ankle in Monday’s win over Hazen. According to Davis, it’s listed as a grade three sprain and he hopes to have Parker back before the end of the season.
Skyline fell to 5-3 in league and 9-5 overall with Tuesday’s loss. The Spartans have five more regular-season games remaining, starting with a road game at 7:30 p.m., Saturday against Bothell.
As for recovering from the tough defeat, Davis isn’t too concerned.
“They’re a resilient bunch of kids,” he said.
Issaquah earns second league win
Issaquah recorded its second league victory of the season Tuesday night, downing Roosevelt 69-64 in overtime.
The Eagles recovered from a nine-point deficit in the fourth quarter to force overtime.
Steven Rael scored a season-high 20 points to lead Issaquah. Nik Landdeck scored 14 while Fletcher Martin, Evan Peterson and Nick Price all scored 11.
The Eagles improved to 2-6 in league and 5-9 overall.
Eastlake stomps Bothell
Eastlake wasted no time putting its opponent away Tuesday night.
The Wolves scored a season-best 32 points in the first quarter, en route to a 74-52 home victory over Bothell.
Twelve different players scored for Eastlake, led by Eric Holmdahl and Conner Iraola, who had 12 apiece. Nick Kassuba added 10 for the Wolves.
Eastlake improved to 3-6 in league and 6-8 overall. The Wolves host rival Redmond next at 8 p.m., Friday.
Second-ranked O’Dea rolls over EC
O’Dea got off to a quick start Tuesday night, cruising to a 57-37 victory over Eastside Catholic.
The Irish led 14-4 after one quarter and continued to pad the lead the remainder of the game.
Joey Schreiber and Jake Springfield led the Crusaders with 10 points apiece.
O’Dea’s Dustin Watts led all scorers with 18.
Eastside Catholic dropped to 2-8 in league and 4-10 overall.
