The Highline men’s basketball team began its season with a 84-72 victory over Whatcom then a 72-64 loss to Clackamas on the road.

Last year, Thunderbird basketball had a one-and-done finish in the NWAC regional tournament, falling to Wenatchee Valley 74-59. The team finished fourth in the NWAC West with a 9-5 conference record. 

With only two returners, Head Coach Che Dawson was actively recruiting in the offseason.

“We definitely wanted to recruit some maturity and guys who are physically stronger,” said Dawson.

This year, the men’s basketball roster added 12 freshmen. More than half of the players are from the Evergreen State while the rest are from out of the state.

“We are young and inexperienced at this level, but a smart, mature group that should get better quickly,” said Dawson.

Against Whatcom on Nov. 22, Highline took care of business at the ThunderDome, beating them 84-72.

Highline’s aggressive defense carried them, holding the Orcas to 33% shooting. Highline outrebounded Whatcom 58-20 and held a 48-28 advantage in points in the paint.

The Thunderbirds had a balanced scoring effort with five players in double-digits. 

In the first half, both teams were neck-and-neck with two lead changes and nearly identical shooting numbers. Both teams had 13-34 field goal shooting. Highline led by just two at the halftime break, 34-32. 

Sophomore Ricky Bell kept Highline ahead, pacing the team with 12 points in the first half.  

In the second half, the Thunderbirds caught a prevailing wind with freshman Taveon Long stringing together 13 points on 6-10 shooting.  

Despite a Highline lead for most of the second half, Whatcom caught up with a nine-point run, leveling the game 45-45 with 13:21 left. 

Highline continued to dance with Whatcom up until 8:47, when a three pointer from Whatcom’s Josh Russ nearly leveled the game again, 56-55, Highline leading. That was the last time the Thunderbirds allowed the Orcas close. Highline made a statement with two dunks in the final minutes of the half and widened the scoring gap up until the end-game buzzer, 84-72.

“We played with a lot of energy on the offensive boards. We finally started to handle their pressure well and got some easy buckets down the stretch,” said Coach Dawson.

“The guys did a really nice job with the effort on the glass,” said Dawson.

Whatcom’s Tawrence Shoffner led the team with 22 points on 9-6 shooting. 

Sophomore Ricky Bell led the Thunderbirds with 20 points on 6-14 shooting and 3-6 from beyond the arc. Rayven Turner and Kanye Taylor added 14 points apiece.

On Tuesday, Highline hit the road to challenge 2-0 Clackamas and fell 72-64. 

The Clackamas Cougars ranked No. 8 in the NWAC Preseason Coaches Poll on Nov. 1.

In the first half, Highline made an early lead, 19-12, at 9:25. Both teams had similar field-goal shooting in the first, but 5-14 shooting beyond the arch helped the Cougars steal the lead twice from the Thunderbirds. Clackamas led 42-33 at the halftime break.

In the second, the Thunderbirds played catchup throughout despite out scoring the Cougars 31-30 in the half. But a strong Clackamas start allowed them to gain a 12-point lead with 17:17 left in the game. The Thunderbirds made several sprints in an attempt to leash in the Cougars, coming in close, 55-52, with 7:34 left. Highline struggled to tame the Cats and Clackamas closed the game 72-64.

This weekend, the Highline men will compete in the Swamp Classic at Green River with games on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. They will challenge Olympic at 5 p.m. on Friday, Shoreline at 1 p.m. on Saturday, and Umpqua at 12 p.m. on Sunday.

The women’s team lost its first road game of the season 85-29 against Bellevue last Tuesday.

Highline struggled to sink their shots throughout with 10-43 shooting and no three-pointers for the night. The Lady Bulldogs had an outstanding performance with 32-59 shooting and sank 11 of 20 beyond the arc. 

The game wasn’t all doom and gloom as the Lady T-Birds kept pace with the Bulldogs in the first quarter, 14-10 with Bellevue leading. 

However, Bellevue broke the game wide open in the second quarter with 36 points to Highline’s six. The Bulldogs had a perfect 5-5 perimeter shooting on top of 13-16 field goal shooting. Highline couldn’t overcome their offensive struggles and fell further behind, going into the halftime break 50-16. 

In the third, Bellevue continued to dominate on both fronts with 10-18 shooting to Highline’s 3-11 and 12 rebounds to four.

The Lady Bulldogs continued to outrun Highline in the fourth with 13-4 until they closed the game 85-29.

Bellevue guard Sav Huerta led the Bulldogs in scoring, with 20 points on 8-13 shooting and 4-7 behind the arc. Brianna Byrnes added 19 points and Helena Van Ess chipped in 17 points.

Sophomore Savannah Arneach led Highline with 10 points.

After the loss, the young Lady T-Bird team is 0-3 overall.

This week, the Lady T-Birds play an away game against Yakima Valley on Friday, Nov. 9. Tipoff is at 5 p.m.