After playing on Tuesday and losing to the Lummi nation basketball team 57-75, the game between the Lopez Lobos and the Tulalip Hawks was a physical and intense battle from the get-go.

Mica Arps leapt high at the start of the game and the Lobos scored from his tip to Colton Jardine. The game was off and running. It was a good thing the young men’s soles were made of vulcanized rubber otherwise there would have been scorch marks all over the court.

Scoring was neck and neck, first 3-4, then 7-7, then 9-11 and Lopez began to fall behind. The Hawks leapt down the court on fast breaks so fast it seemed one of their players only took four strides to make it to the basket. The Lobos were no slouches. Jardine, Mica Arps, and Shaun Samuel fought and broke and laid it up into the basket time and time again. The first quarter was leaping, charging, and running full tilt the length of the court as both teams turned over the ball and fought for possession. There were some fouls, but by and large play was not marred by that many errors. The Hawks were visceral in their play. Kevin Dengler sank several in early on and Willaim Carson had some nice passing to teammates Samuel, Jardine, and Arps. Samuel muscled it into the basket for very lucrative scoring dunks and there were some sweet rebounds on both sides. Though the Lobos lost that evening 53-75, the two teams’ expansive, exultant play lit up the cold winter night.

On Saturday afternoon, the Lobos returned to the court, this time dominating the La Conner Braves throughout and winning the game 50-36. The La Conner Braves and the Lopez Lobos had a hard time scoring in the first five minutes of the game, each team putting major defensive pressure on the other as the teams tried to get it in the basket. Players like Colton Jardine, Mica Arps and Shawn Samuel all over-shot or under-threw, but both teams worked hard on defense and Lopez scrabbled the ball away several times from the Braves. The Brave defense was thick in the key. Alex Buffum missed a three point attempt but scored first in the game, getting in the first free throw of the afternoon. Mica Arps followed suit and with some very fancy ballet in the key, feinted twice and palmed it into the basket. William Carson came in late into the first quarter to help out on offense as the Lobos played a smart and well-coordinated, more thoughtful defensive game.

The Lobos defense, too, used the full court press on the opposing team to great effect. Several times Jardine was able to snag the ball back and one time the Lobos made good on the interception for an easy two points in. Arps and Samuel had a decoy play worked out that began to put points on the board. Samuel tossed the ball to Arps to draw the Braves defense, and then Arps would unload not to the basket but to Samuel who was thankfully free of Brave pests and dunked it in for two more points. The Lobos made basketball look easy on Saturday, striding down the court like gazelles and scoring with quick hands and eyes.