Boys Hoops: Eastlake Catholic suffers heartbreaking loss to Bellarmine Prep
The Eastside Catholic boys basketball team lost 60-59 in the last seconds to the Bellarmine Prep Lions in the first game of the 3A state tournament on Friday night at Issaquah High School.
The momentum in the first half favored the Lions, who went into the break four points up. The Crusaders were able to gain momentum in the second half, taking the lead through Steven Sun’s free throws in the last minute, but a layup from Bellarmine’s Ben Heisel with 14 seconds on the clock sealed a thrilling win.
Yabi Aklog, a 6-foot-11 senior center for Eastside Catholic, scored 21 points on the night. He had a slow start, only scoring three points in the first half. But he then went on a second-half surge, scoring 18 points.
“I think we came out a little stale at the end of the second half, but we were able to bring it back and we lost by one, but we played way better in the second half,” said Aklog.
Aklog was limited in the first quarter, well guarded by the Lions’ Luke Heisel, who effectively shut down his attacking output. Heisel prevented Aklog from getting to both offensive and defensive rebounds.
Aklog was substituted off for the majority of the second quarter by Crusaders head coach Brent Merritt. For the last minutes of the second quarter, Aklog came back to make crucial blocks to deny layups by top scorer Ronnie Wiggins.
The Bellarmine student section was vocal throughout the game, chanting at Eastside Catholic players. The Crusaders attacked in the direction of the Lions support, receiving heckles as they drove downcourt. The students targeted Aklog, chanting “free throw merchant,” referring to his one-point output in the first quarter.
Aklog said the heckling did not affect the team, stating that “no, I think we’re kind of [composed]. We made some mistakes, obviously, the whole game, but I don’t think that really affected us.”
He contributed greatly to both offense and defense in the second half, and was able to move around freely on both sides of the court, rather than sticking to the center like he did during previous contests. He used his huge frame to dominate rebounds and blocks. Aklog was also especially effective at mid-range shooting. He drew two fouls in the third quarter as Lions defenders chose to pressure him specifically.
Aklog put up 11 points on the scoresheet in the third quarter, and scored two more mid-ranged twos and a triple to close at 21 points for the night. Bellarmine’s fight in the last four minutes, coming back from a ten-point deficit, ultimately won them the game. They sunk multiple triples from the top of the key to recover, setting themselves up for the game winner. The loss was heartbreaking right down to the wire for the Crusaders.
“[We] just got to win. We’re going to the [Tacoma] dome now, so the only thing that matters is winning, we got to put this behind us,” said Aklog.
Eastside Catholic will play Liberty on Wednesday at the Tacoma Dome. A win would secure advancement to the next game, while a defeat would eliminate the team from the competition.
