Foul trouble proved to be a thorn in the side of the Newport Knights in the second round of the Class 4A KingCo boys basketball tournament against the Woodinville Falcons.
Woodinville took advantage of Newport’s depleted lineup, capturing a 53-48 victory on Feb. 14 at Redmond High School in Redmond. Newport center Calvin Throckmorton was on the bench for most of the second quarter with two fouls. Knights’ players AJ Block and Ryan Kingma also battled foul trouble throughout the final three quarters of play. Despite not having a roster at full strength, the Knights kept the game close against Woodinville with its savvy play in the paint and on the perimeter.
“They are a very tough team to guard. They can go inside and they can shoot from the outside,” Woodinville head coach Mark Folsom said. “They were trying to pound it down low because we were switching everything on the perimeter. That made it though for us and we struggled offensively. They definitely had us on our heels.”
Woodinville led Newport 38-29 with 3:39 left in the third quarter of play but Newport wouldn’t go away quietly. Block scored on a driving layup, cutting Woodinville’s lead to 51-48 with 28.3 seconds left in regulation. It was the closest the Knights would get in their comeback quest. Newport head coach Steve Haizlip was proud of his team’s performance in the face of adversity.
“I thought we battled really well. We were in major foul trouble and the way we kept after it and kept going was amazing,” Haizlip said.
Haizlip is glad his team has a chance to continue its postseason run.
“We just get to go a different route,” Haizlip said after the loss to Woodinville. “We’ve done this two times before and have actually made it all the way (state tournament). For me having this opportunity as a coach I look at it on a positive note. I get to coach more games with these guys.”
Unfortunately for the Knights their season came to an end courtesy of a 50-47 loss to the Redmond Mustangs in a loser-out district playoff game on Feb. 17 at Redmond High School in Redmond.
Shaun Scott: 425-453-5045; sscott@bellevuereporter.com
