La Conner Weekly News - Your independent hometown award-winning newspaper

New La Conner High School boys’ basketball coach Lance Lopez said before the season tipped off that two goals for his team were to be competitive and draw large crowds to Landy James Gym.

He achieved both in just the Braves’ second home date.

La Conner (1-2) fought back from an early double-digit deficit to edge 1B power Lummi 62-58 in overtime Saturday night.

The Braves, trailing much of the contest, forced the extra session when Corran Eisen took a side inbounds pass from C.J. Edwards and drained a long three-point jumper as time expired.

In overtime, Brayden Pedroza scored on a transition bucket and via another inbounds assist from Edwards, who earlier put his team on top for good at 57-56 with a layup off a baseline drive.

Tyler Cicotte converted a key free throw down the stretch.

Pedroza led all scorers with 25 points. Ivory Damien (15) and Eisen (13) also finished in double-digits.

Edwards (8) and Cicotte (1) rounded out the attack.

Though an early non-conference matchup, a playoff atmosphere prevailed, with the gym filled and fans loudly cheering throughout. Many attended to see several cousins of the Swinomish Edwards family on the court for both teams.

Lummi led 31-13 early in the second quarter before Pedroza shot La Conner back in contention.

The junior guard scored all 12 of the hosts’ points in the frame, including a pair of old school three-point plays. He meshed 10 unanswered points to pull the Braves within 31-23 at intermission.

La Conner went on an 11-3 run to open the second half, with Edwards knotting the score at 34-34 late in the third quarter.

Lummi’s Dyson Edwards rallied the Blackhawks, lifting the visitors to a 44-37 lead on consecutive baskets in the final stanza.

But back came La Conner.

The home team went on a 10-0 spurt over a three-minute span of the fourth period capped by a long trey by Damien. During that sequence, which saw La Conner regain the lead at 50-47, Cicotte dished off assists to Damien and Eisen, the latter a three-pointer from the corner.

Still, Lummi was in front 53-50 with 15 seconds remaining and possession of the ball when the Blackhawks turned it over with an errant pass. La Conner advanced the ball to midcourt and called timeout with nine ticks left on the clock.

Lopez called up an inbounds play that had Eisen swing along the baseline from the far corner and receive the pass from C.J. Edwards. Not taking a dribble, he quickly pivoted and shot the ball. It glided through the net for the tying score.

“The out-of-bounds play worked to tie the game,” Lopez reflected afterward, “and then we ran another version of it to get a layin toward the end of overtime.

“It was just a great win,” he stressed. “It was a great team win. The whole team played well.”

Lummi had bolted to an early lead on the sharpshooting of point guard Jerome Toby, who drained three perimeter treys in the first quarter as the Blackhawks built a quick 21-11 advantage.

Toby tallied 12 points, all in the first half. Dyson Edwards added 10 points for the Blackhawks.

La Conner resumes its non-league schedule Saturday 5:30 p.m. at Kingston.