Fort Vancouver boys basketball’s biggest woe amid a 2-5 start has been how poorly the team has played to open games. The Trappers have led after the first quarter just once this season.
On Friday, in their home tournament, the slow start doomed the Trappers again. Fort Vancouver was unable to overcome a 21-point deficit and fell to Enumclaw 63-49 in the opening round of the Fort Vancouver Holiday Tournament, which continues through Sunday.
“We always come out and are down by 10 every time,” Cargile said. “We got to hurry it up. Every game this year has been like that.”
Fort Vancouver trailed 20-10 after the first quarter. That deficit increased to 35-14 late in the second quarter as the Hornets shot a remarkable 15 of 26 in the first half. Coach James Ensley can’t explain why his squad consistently struggles to get going early.
“We’ve tried multiple different things, warmup routines, pregame talks,” Ensley said. “We just seem to come out flat. We’re still searching for ways to figure it out.”
The Trappers found the right recipe in the second half, a 2-1-2 trapping press wreaking havoc in Enumclaw’s inside-out offense. Fort Vancouver cut the lead to as few as 10 when Tyrique Cargile and Kahlil Singleton hit back-to-back 3-pointer with 2:30 remaining. The margin was too big to overcome late.
Cargile finished with 12 points, including going 4 of 5 from 3-point range, and three steals.
“Kahlil (Singleton) is taking all the pressure,” Cargile. “I just got into the game; I was getting wide-open looks.”
Singleton still finished with 16 points on 5-of-11 shooting despite the Hornets keying in on the shooter.
“It would shock me if we don’t continue to see a whole bunch of full denials, essentially a box-and-1 on Kahlil,” Ensley said. “It’s a really good opportunity for the other kids to step up and knock down shots.”
Sharpshooting John Leonard led the Hornets with 18 points and six rebounds and Tyler Feddema added 17 points and five rebounds, as Enumclaw controlled the glass with a 33-18 advantage.
The Trappers will look for the program’s first win in their home tournament against Hockinson at 12:20 p.m. Saturday.
ENUMCLAW 63, FORT VANCOUVER 49
ENUMCLAW — Will Schroeder 5, Jordan Iacobazzi 4, Cameron Brauer 9, Dane Goudy 4, John Leonard 18, Malcolm Harper 0, Dylan DeRosier 0, Drew Kuzaro 6, Carson Firnkoess 0, Tyler Feddema 17. Totals 25-49 (6-19) 7-10 63.
FORT VANCOUVER — Darius Scheer 2, Tyrique Cargile 12, Keyontae Cage 5, Kahlil Singleton 16, Tre Cannon 7, Morgan Weinmaster 0, Justin Vernon 2, Trevor Wright 2, John Tuilaepa 2. Totals 16-45 (7-16) 9-14 49.
Enumclaw 20 17 11 15—63
F. Vancouver 10 9 12 18—49
