DEMING – The Mountaineers rallied from 12 points down to knock off the Bayhawks in an early-season thriller.
Mount Baker edged Bellingham 51-50 on its home court Thursday night. The result spoiled a career night for Bellingham sophomore guard Harmon Wienkers, who totaled a game-high 25 points on seven 3-pointers.
It was a hard-fought, physical contest that was decided by a game-winning layup from Mountaineers junior center Jesse Harward in the waning moments. Harward finished with a team-high 11 points on the night.
“It was all a team effort,” Harward said. “At the end there, we had nothing else to do. We had to work together and play together. It was a good effort by us, and we pulled out the win.”
Mount Baker’s Joe Harward and Bellingham’s Joshua Tolle dive for a loose ball. (Andy Bronson/Cascadia Daily News)
A sloppy first two minutes brought zero points by either team and a foul by each. Harward finally took the lid off the basket as the clock ticked below six minutes remaining in the first quarter.
Wienkers poured in a rapid 11 points via three-straight 3-pointers to help the Bayhawks to a 13-4 lead. He drilled one more at the first-quarter buzzer to finish with 14 points in the period and put Bellingham ahead 22-10.
Mount Baker came out hot in the second quarter, sharing the ball well and making smart passes. Harward capped off a 16-3 Mountaineers run with a gritty and-one to give his group a one-point lead — their first since the game’s inaugural bucket.
“We had to keep our heads up,” Harward said. “We knew if we put our heads down [Bellingham] was going to take over.”
Wienkers, following his explosive first quarter, was held in check in the second quarter. A back-and-forth sequence left Mount Baker with a 31-30 edge at halftime.
Bellingham’s Elias Togagae, left, and Grayson Stone battle for the rebound with Mount Baker’s Ethan Larsen. (Andy Bronson/Cascadia Daily News)
The third quarter featured plenty of defense and included six total ties and lead changes. Bellingham managed to win the quarter by two to take a 41-40 lead into the final period.
Mount Baker regained the advantage early in the fourth, putting Bellingham down 44-41. Wienkers re-emerged from the shadows to drain a game-tying 3-pointer.
Bellingham captured a 50-49 lead with 45 seconds remaining on an inbound alley-oop layup to junior guard Wyatt Stephan. Harward, with multiple Bayhawks draped over him, gained the lead back for Mount Baker on a putback layup with just under 10 seconds to go.
“Jesse always crashes the boards and works so hard on every offensive and defensive rebound,” Mount Baker coach Tony Clark said. “Jacob [Wade] had a real good look, and Jesse was right there for the putback. He knows what to do when he gets the ball that close to the hoop.”
Bellingham’s Harmon Wienkers drains a 3-pointer in the first quarter. (Andy Bronson/Cascadia Daily News)
With 4.7 seconds remaining, the Bayhawks came out of a timeout with possession. Bellingham attempted a backdoor pass off the inbounds pass to Stephan, had it intercepted by Mount Baker senior guard Jacob Wade, and the Mountaineers sealed it.
“They’ve got so much grit, and they’re willing to work their tails off to come back and get the win,” Clark said. “They wanted it. They wanted this.”
Mountaineers senior forward Ethan Larson finished with nine points. Wade totaled eight and senior guard Tavian Powell tallied six.
Mount Baker is off to a 2-2 overall start after finishing last season 0-18 and 0-15 in Northwest Conference games. The Mountaineers remain 0-2 in league games so far this season. They will travel to Anacortes (7-1, 3-0 NWC) on Dec. 31 at 2:30 p.m.
Mount Baker’s Jacob Wade is fouled by Bellingham’s Carson Brethauer. (Andy Bronson/Cascadia Daily News)
“You can’t think about last season very much, because if you hold on to the past it’s going to kill you,” Harward said.
Following up Wienkers for Bellingham was Stephan with eight points and junior forward Elias Togagae with five.
The Bayhawks dropped to 3-4 overall (2-3 NWC) and will host Marysville Getchell (5-2, 2-1 WESCO) on Dec. 30 at 7:15 p.m.
