Friday Harbor ousted from post-season by Lynden Christian, 70-45 | Boys Basketball

Seniors Parker Lawson and Preston Ukra tallied 12 point apiece to lead the Wolverines, and fellow senior Mike Ausilio added 10, but the rest of the roster managed only 11 points in the second meeting of the year between the 1A regional rivals.

One and done.

The season came to a screeching halt for the Friday Harbor boys basketball team in the wake a 70-45 loss Tuesday in the opening round of the 1A Northwest District playoffs at Lynden Christian.

Seniors Parker Lawson and Preston Ukra tallied 12 point apiece to lead the Wolverines, and fellow senior Mike Ausilio added 10, but the rest of the roster managed only 11 points in the second meeting of the year between the 1A regional rivals.

Lynden Christian freshman Issac Reimer tossed in a game-high 18 points and grabbed 10 of the team’s 41 rebounds to notch a double-double in the post-season opener, and Jacob Knibbe added 12.

With the victory, the Lyncs (11-10) eliminated Friday Harbor from the regional playoff picture and will square off against King’s, the district’s top-ranked team, Thursday in the second round.

The Wolverines were determined to avoid another slow start after falling behind — by 14 points — early on in the previous clash at Lynden Christian, in which the Lyncs prevailed 54-46. They executed that part of Tuesday’s game plan to perfection, and trailed by only a single point, at 15-14, after the opening period.

But the Lyncs, who knocked down eight shots from behind the 3-point arc in the game, stepped on the gas and outscored the Wolverines by double digits in both the second and third periods. They began the final eight minutes of regulation with a rock-solid 22-point lead, and outscored Friday Harbor 14-11 in the final period to clinch the post-season win.

It’s the second time in two years that Friday Harbor has opened post-season play with a loss. Still, the Wolverines finished the 2009/10 season with a winning record, at 11-10 overall, and second in Northwest 1A/2B League with a 10-2 mark.