With a handful of games to go in the 2011 regular season, Skyline was in prime position to capture one of the top seeds to the 4A KingCo tournament and make a run into the state playoffs that seemed all but inevitable.
Then the Spartans learned a valuable lesson.
They dropped three straight to Garfield, Issaquah and Eastlake before earning a repeat date with the Bulldogs in the second round of the tournament that resulted in a lopsided loss. After a win over Woodinville, coach Jay J. Davis’ team had repositioned itself for a shot at the final state berth from the district, but let an early led slip away in a seven-point season ending loss to Newport.
“That was a pretty disappointing game,” senior Lucas Shannon said. “It just taught us we have to bring more focus for the entire game.”
But with last season’s postseason teachings and a more cohesive mix of “basketball-first” guys on the court, Skyline is once again in poll position for the top seed into the conference tournament. And this time, they’re ready to finish.
“I’ve taken some revenge on it,” senior point guard Will Parker said of the ending to last season. “We should have gone further than we did. This year we just have to take care of business.”
Parker and the Spartans did exactly that on Friday with a defeat of Newport that locked up the top seed in the division. But both Davis and his players know they are still far from the finish line and are excited at the challenge the postseason will bring, especially after facing a pair of prominent national programs in tournament play earlier in the year.
In fact, two of Skyline’s three losses have come to out-of-state competition in Harvard-Westlake (Calif.) and Lincoln (Brooklyn, N.Y.). Their only loss in league play came to Ballard.
“That was a really great experience,” Shannon said of the holiday tournament. “We had a chance to win both games so it was definitely a positive experience.”
Skyline will face Issaquah at home on Tuesday before traveling to Eastlake the following day and closing out the regular season with Bothell at home on Friday and Davis is hoping that is a springboard for what is still in store.
“If there was anything we learned,” Davis said of 2011. “It’s finish the right way.”
