CHIMACUM — East Jefferson boys basketball head coach Alex Little belives his team turned a corner mentally in a hard-fought 55-53 loss to Nisqually League opponent Vashon at home Thursday.
“We lost a close one 55-53, But in the heat of the battle we had our biggest win yet,” Little said.
“For years, this group has struggled to believe we can fight back from a deficit. Last night with 5 minutes to go we were down double digits but when I looked at our guys during a timeout I saw something different.
“You could tell from their faces, from their body language that they fully believed we could win the game. We fought hard and put ourselves in a position to win at the buzzer. The last shot didn’t go in, but we came away with gained confidence and belief.”
Sophomore Luke O’Hara did the heavy lifting for the Rivals with 25 points and eight rebounds.
Dillon Page Castillo was an efficient 4-of-5 for nine points and Reese Williamson added seven points and six rebounds.
“We played Vashon less than a month ago on Jan. 16 and lost by 21,” Little said. “So some really good growth at the tail end of our season.”
East Jefferson (3-5, 7-12) faces No. 3 seed/defending state champion Annie Wright (5-2, 12-9) in a loser-out West Central District contest at Annie Wright in Tacoma today at 2 p.m.
