7A
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • MONDAY, MARCH 13, 2017
Champs: The Gulls had nine players in the scoring column
Continued from Page 1A
The Gulls were ranked No. 1 at the
Class 4A level almost from Day 1 of
the season.
With the returning state Player of
the Year and a host of quick and tal-
ented (but not very tall) athletes, the
Seaside boys showed early on that they
would be nearly impossible to beat.
They lost just once, to Valley Cath-
olic, Feb. 10. After that, the Gulls
closed out the regular season with two
must-wins. And with their colors of
Red, White and Columbia Blue, they
flew past the competition in the play-
offs and the state tournament, winning
five in a row — including two victories
over the Valiants.
They played Valley Catholic four
times — twice in the regular season
and two times in the post-season. And
no match-up between the Valiants and
Gulls was ever bigger than Saturday
night’s championship.
Photos by Danny Miller/The Daily Astorian
Seagulls’ Jackson Januik celebrates his team’s win at the conclusion of the game as Seaside defeated
Valley Catholic in the 4A state championship game on Saturday in Forest Grove.
Night of the Gulls
Seaside trailed just twice (5-4 and
10-7), but the rest of the night belonged
to the Gulls, their fans, their alumni …
the entire town, it seemed, was either
in attendance, or at home watching or
listening.
As the 11 o’clock hour came
and went, it was hugs and parties all
around as Seaside celebrated in the
stands and on the court at Forest Grove
High School.
“Looking up in those stands and
seeing how our community supports
our youth is special,” said Seaside
coach Bill Westerholm, who finally
made his way off the court and into the
locker room.
“And it’s nice to get our first-ever
state championship, as well,” he said.
“There’s been some great basketball
teams in Seaside. This may not be the
greatest basketball team that we’ve
had, but this year, it’s the greatest bas-
ketball team at the 4A level.
“And these kids deserve it,” said
Westerholm, equally deserving in his
19th year as the Seaside coach. “Our
senior leadership is by far better than
on any team I’ve ever had. Jackson
Januik is a leader. Hunter Thompson
is just a warrior. Attikin Babb, Otto
Hoekstre … they’ve done everything
we’ve asked them to do since they
were in the third grade.”
Januik went out in style — with
a game-high 29 points, Player of the
Game honors, chants of “M-V-P” from
the student section … it was the stuff
of dreams.
“That’s a fairy-tale ending,”
said Seaside’s senior floor leader. “I
couldn’t picture it any better than that.
This season was amazing, with my
teammates, coaches and the fan sup-
port … that was the greatest ending I
could ever think of.”
It was a nostalgic night for Wester-
holm, a graduate of Seaside and long-
time community member.
“Seeing our community there …
I could have walked through and
hugged every single person,” he said.
“Because I knew every single person
there, somehow. Growing up in that
community, the alumni that came back
and the kids and players who came
back … and players who I looked up
to, alumni that played basketball at
Seaside.”
They were all there, on hand to wit-
ness a first for Seaside basketball.
LEFT: Seaside Seagulls’ Payton Westerholm goes up for a rebound during the first half against Valley Cath-
olic in the 4A state championship game on Saturday. RIGHT: Seaside Seagulls’ Chase Januik goes up for a
layup against Valley Catholic in the 4A state championship game on Saturday in Forest Grove.
The game
Trailing 10-7, Januik knocked
down a 3-pointer to tie the game, then
hit a jumper moments later for the lead.
The Valiants tied the game at
12-12, but Seaside’s Ryan Hague —
who missed a good portion of the sea-
son with an injury — responded with a
jump shot that gave the Gulls a 14-12
after one quarter. And Seaside never
trailed again.
Januik opened the second period
with a trey, Duncan Thompson
scored on a baseline drive, Chase
Januik drained a 3-pointer for a 24-16
lead, and his big brother knocked
down another for a 27-18 advantage.
Valley Catholic didn’t surrender eas-
ily, as the Valiants reeled off seven
straight points to draw within 27-25 at
halftime.
“We had gotten out of our offen-
sive flow,” Jackson Januik said. “We
were stagnant, and needed to get back
to what we were doing.”
Westerholm said, “We did a good
job the first quarter, but the second
quarter we became stagnant. You just
can’t pass the ball without dribbling
against this group. You have to create
some sort of angle, and we didn’t do a
very good job of creating angles in the
second quarter, because (the Valiants)
are long, athletic, and we gave them
some turnovers in the second quarter
that let them back in it.”
Not to worry, however.
Hunter Thompson’s 3-pointer high-
lighted a quick 8-2 run for the Gulls to
open the second half.
And a couple of sophomores made
perhaps the plays of the night that put
Seaside over the top.
Payton Westerholm’s 3-pointer
at the 3:35 mark of the third quarter
made it 38-29, and moments later he
stole the ball and dished it to Duncan
Thompson, who scored, drew the foul
and completed a three-point play for a
41-29 lead.
The Valiants made a brief run, high-
lighted by a steal and dunk by Dan-
iel Hardy that had the Valley fans on
their feet … but Valley Catholic never
seemed to recover from Seaside’s 14-4
run in the third period.
Following Hardy’s slam, the Gulls
quickly regained the momentum, as
Chase Januik beat the buzzer with a
running jumper to end the third quar-
ter, and Jackson Januik opened the
fourth with a trey, pushing the lead
right back to 46-36.
“We did a better job offensively the
second half,” coach Westerholm said.
“The tide turned a little, and we han-
dled that adversity in the second quar-
ter. Attikin had some decent plays here
and there, everybody contributed.
“We became more patient in the
second half. There was one posses-
sion in the third quarter where we
made three or four passes, reversed
the ball, came back, reversed it again,
and Chase hit the three. That was some
great ball movement.”
“That 3-point play (by Duncan
Thompson) was big,” said his big
brother, Hunter. “Then we had a steal
right after, where either Jackson or
Payton stole it. And we just kept the
pressure on and wore them down by
the time the third, fourth quarter came
around.”
And the Valiants were done.
Seaside’s final 12 points came at
the free-throw line, as the final period
turned into a free-throw shooting con-
test. Both teams combined to shoot 67
free throws (the Gulls were 26-of-36,
Valley Catholic finished 22-for-31).
Last year’s loss to Philomath in the
state championship game served as a
motivation for those who played in the
game. A motivation to not lose.
“Sitting where Valley Catholic is
tonight, that was us last year,” Hunter
Thompson said after the game. Last
year’s loss “killed us. It was horrible.”
Jackson Januik added, “We just
came in last year like, ‘oh, we’re play-
ing in the game.’ This year we were
playing to win. Our game plan to was
to win.
“Only a couple of us played and got
minutes in that game, but I think our
confidence tonight was huge. Every-
body was just screaming before the
game. We were energized. We came
into the game with energy and gave a
lot from the beginning.”
In addition to the Seaside crowd,
students from Banks High School were
on hand (the Braves had lost the girls’
state championship just hours earlier),
and gave the Gulls a little boost with
the crowd noise.
“The Banks fans were great,”
Januik said. “Combined with our fans,
that was the greatest student section
I’ve ever seen.”
Senior leaders
Seaside’s senior guard tandem of
Jackson Januik and Hunter Thompson
— one of the most talented backcourt
duos in Clatsop County since Asto-
ria’s Bobby Anet and Wally Johansen
— went out as state champions.
Between summer ball, camps,
off-season scrimmages and winters
spent as teammates from the first
grade through their senior years, the
goal was finally reached.
“We knew Seaside had never won
a state championship, and to do that
for the city and for the school was
a goal,” Januik said. “And it feels
amazing. To win a state championship
in front of all those fans … for the first
time for Seaside … it’s incredible.”
Thompson said, “I remember
being at the third-place game (in
2011), and cheering them and being
super excited.”
Another state Player of the Year
award would be the perfect way to
cap a perfect season for Januik.
“Jackson played a good tourna-
ment,” coach Westerholm said. “I
know he was disappointed last year,
because he didn’t shoot the ball very
well (in last year’s championship
game). But he bounced back, and
that’s not always easy to do. When
you can come back the following
year and redeem yourself … or him-
self — because he puts a lot of that on
him.”
Two reporters were overheard in
the hallway after the game, talking
about the undersized Gulls (“they’re
fast and fearless,” said one), with no
player on the roster over 6-foot-4. The
Valiants have nine players from 6-4 to
6-8.
“There’s teams from Portland that
would come down and look at our
team and play us,” Westerholm said.
“They’d get beat and say it’s the offi-
cials’ fault.
“I think you can say that we were
the best team in the state this year,”
he said. “It wasn’t a fluke. I’ve never
seen a team that has this much heart,
this much fight in them. They’re bas-
ketball savvy, they’ve been coached
well throughout their whole careers
… these guys are special.”
Road to the final
In Friday’s semifinal game at For-
est Grove High School, Seaside led
from start to finish on its way to a
67-55 win over North Bend, securing
a spot in Saturday night’s champion-
ship game for the Gulls.
The Bulldogs came into the game
riding a 16-game win streak … and,
not coincidentally, the last team
to beat the Bulldogs was the very
same Seaside team, 82-62 back on
Dec. 20.
North Bend’s guard play “has got-
ten a lot better,” Seaside coach Bill
Westerholm said. “We created a lot of
turnovers at their place and went on
a 3-point barrage. But (the Bulldogs)
do a lot of good things. They’re big
and long and lanky. Our game plan
tonight was to get them up and down
the court.
The Gulls had nine players in
the scoring column, led by Jackson
Januik’s 16, with Chase Januik add-
ing 12.
“Last year, we were excited that we
were in the championship,” Wester-
holm said. “And we forgot that we
had to play the championship game.
We were taking pictures and all that
stuff the night before the game. This
time, these kids know what they’re
here for.”
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