Eagles make pungent run to second place

The boys from St. John/ Endicott hold their second place trophy after falling just short in a classic championship game against Sunnyside Christian. Coach Rick Winters, back row second from the right, was named the tournament’s best-dressed coach after sporting a crimson corduroy blazer for the final.

Powered by bus driver Dave Swannack’s elephant garlic, St. John/Endicott boys booked a second place finish last weekend at Yakima and rattled Sunnyside Christian, the 1B dominator, down to the final second of the title game.

Each time the Eagles got on or off the team bus, Swannack put the garlic out to rub for luck.

“I don’t know what it was with that garlic,” said Coach Rick Winters. “Dave thought it was vitally important that we touch that piece of garlic every time we got on the bus.”

The Eagles entered the tourney with a not-too-fancy 13-11 record, after a 3-7 start with forward Warren Miller sidelined after knee surgery. Once Miller returned and the Eagles hit a team groove around him, the Eagles proved hard to stop.

Miller wound up with the tournament MVP honor.

“In the end we had a really great year. I’m so proud of these kids,” said Winters. “They really came together.”

Saturday’s classic championship game against Sunnyside Christian showcased that, although the Knights extended their string of title wins with a 49-43 win.

The Eagles controlled the tempo and sidelined Knights’ star center Steven Boersma with foul trouble.

Miller hit a 3-pointer in the closing seconds of the first half to keep the Eagles within a point, 20-21.

SJE’s offense struggled against the big SC team, but the defense picked up loose balls and routinely hit the deck to take charging fouls.

To open the second half, Dylan Schmick found Miller under the bucket for two, and the Eagles took their first lead.

SJE held that lead until 1:44 was left in the game when SC guard Ryker Van Belle found Boersma on an alley-oop layin.

The Eagles offense went cold, and they had to go into a foul mode for possession. Knight guard Steven Bosma hit seven free throws in the last minute.

Miller finished with 23 points and nine rebounds. Schmick finished with 11 points, six boards and took three charges.

SJE earned a slot in the championship by edging Moses Lake Christian 44-41 in Friday’s semi round.

Kaleb Simon and Mason Van Lith picked up their games with Schmick handicapped by four fouls for much of the second half.

The duo found lanes to the hoop, often hitting Miller for open looks down low.

SJE trailed the Lions until Miller hit a jumper with 2:05 left, and the defense scavenged steals to hold off MLC.

The Lions had to foul, and Miller went to the line 10 times in the last minute. He hit just enough of them to keep the Lions at bay. His toss mark was 6-13.

“It was pretty nerve-wracking,” Miller said after the game. “Especially when I started to miss some of them.”

Thursday night, St. John/Endicott rode Dylan Schmick’s white-hot hand to a 71-59 win over Cusick. Schmick finished with 28, including 17 in the second half. The Eagles canned 56 percent of their shots from the field, including 64 percent from deep.

SJE won their state opener 59-43 over Tulalip Heritage. Miller hit 19 points and 10 rebounds; Schmick added 14 points, six rebounds and five assists.

SATURDAY

Sunnyside Christian 49- St. John/Endicott 43: 10/5 11/15 12/11 11/17: Steven Bosma 1 (3pt) 8-10 11, Trevor Wagenaar 5 (3pt) 0-0 11, Steven Boersma 4 2-4 10, Ryker Van Belle 2 (3pt) 2-4 7, Tim De Vries 3 0-0 6, Kevin De Jong 2 0-0 4. SJE: Warren Miller 8 (3pt) 6-7 23, Dylan Schmick 4 3-4 11, Ben Harrison 1 (3pt) 0-0 3, Mason Van Lith 1 0-0 2, Cole MacCanna 1 0-0 2, Kyle Raynor 1 0-0 2.

FRIDAY

St. John/Endicott 44- Moses Lake Christian 41: 14/16 10/11 9/5 11/9: Miller 8 6-13 22, Simon 2 (2-3pt) 1-2 7, Schmick 2 (3pt) 1-2 6, Van Lith 2 0-1 4, McCanna 1 (3pt) 0-0 3, Raynor 1 0-0 2. MLC: Timofeyev 2 9-15 15, McNamara 5 3-4 13, Murrell 3 (2-3pt) 0-0 8, Roberts 2 0-0 4, Kagele 0 1-2 1.

THURSDAY

St. John/Endicott 71- Cusick 59: 14/14 21/10 20/21 16/14: Schmick 12 (2-3pt 2-4 28, Miller 9 (3pt) 5-5 24, McCanna 3 (2-3pt) 3-4 11, Van Lith 1 0-0 2. Cusick: Shanholtzer 10 (3pt) 4-6 25, Norton 6 2-3 14, Edwards 3 (3pt.) 1-2 10, Bluff 3 0-2 6, Prine 1 0-2 2, Andrews 1 0-0 2.

WEDNESDAY

St. John/Endicott 59- Tulalip Heritage 43: 20/10 6/12 16/12 17/9: Miller 8 3-4 19, Schmick 6 2-2 14, McCanna 4 (3-3pt) 0-1 11, Van Lith 2 (3pt) 0-0 5, Simon 2 (3pt) 0-0 5, Riehle 1 0-0 2, Harrison 1 0-0 2, Nelson 0 1-2 1.