Midway through the season, the Vancouver Volcanoes find themselves in a tight race atop The Basketball League’s Pacific Northwest Division.
The Volcanoes went 1-2 over the past weekend. A home win over Wenatchee on Saturday was sandwiched between a loss at Seattle on Thursday and a road defeat against Salem on Sunday.
That puts Vancouver at 7-3 this season, percentage points behind first-place Salem (6-2) and one-half game ahead of Seattle in the six-team division.
Thursday, a strong fourth-quarter comeback fell short as Vancouver lost to the Seattle SuperHawks 131-122. The Volcanoes trailed 103-76 after three quarters, but pulled within 119-112 with 2:52 remaining.
Marcus Golder and Thomas Miles each scored 30 points, but the Volcanoes couldn’t overcome cold shooting from outside going 4 for 21 from 3-point range. Vincent Boumann had a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds in his season debut.
Saturday, Vancouver seized control early en route to a 140-107 win over Wenatchee at Hudson’s Bay High School. The Volcanoes outscored the Bighorns 34-19 in the second quarter to lead 67-40 at halftime.
Golder had 29 points and 12 rebounds while Miles added 26 points, including five of Vancouver’s 14 3-pointers.
Caleb Coleman chipped in 18 points and Boumann had another double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Sunday, Vancouver ran into one of the league’s hottest teams. Salem won its fifth in a row by beating the Volcanoes 130-112.
Five Volcanoes scored in double-figures. Golder again lead the way, scoring 31 points and making all 14 of his free throws. Caleb Coleman added 22 points and Rashaun Coleman scored 21 points.
Golder’s 26.5 points per game ranks fourth in The Basketball League.
The Volcanoes are back home for two games this weekend at Hudson’s Bay High School.
Vancouver faces Emerald City at 7 p.m. Friday in the game that serves as a fundraiser for Vancouver Public Schools.
The Volcanoes then host Seattle at 3 p.m. Sunday.
Tickets are $10 for each game.
