By Jeremy Martin

TUKWILA-Trailing by one with 45 seconds remaining in Friday night’s boy’s basketball match up between Chief Sealth and Foster, the Seahawk’s Ahmed Mohamed took a pass in the lane, pivoted towards the rim and knocked in the hoop plus the harm.

The junior forward’s free throw would be nullified by a lane violation, the fifth of the game for Sealth, but his bucket would give the Seahawks the lead and that would prove to be all the team would need in squeaking out a 66-62 victory over a scrappy and athletic Bulldogs (0-2) squad.

“We’re pleased with pulling it out during our first game of the year,” Chief Sealth head coach Colin Slingsby said.

Mohamed would finish the game with 16 points and six rebounds. Leeandre Dickerson also netted 16 while grabbing 12 boards and Alloney Burris put up 10 points adding six rebounds and three assists.

Despite the dramatic ending, the rest of the evening proved to be the poster child for an early season game as both squads struggled with turnovers, fouls and with consistently running its offense.

But neither team was want for effort during a game that turned into a physical, back-and-forth affair.

“After three weeks of practice it’s inevitable that we would make some mistakes, but I’m definitely happy how our guys responded.” Slingsby said.

Even Slingsby got in on the action, picking up an unsportsman like technical foul in the second quarter after explaining something to the refs in language a bit too colorful for their taste.

The tech helped Foster come away with two extra points, allowing the Bulldogs to take a 20-19 lead at the 3:11 mark of the second quarter; a lead it would hold until Sealth’s Khaleef Griffin nailed a long three with 35 seconds remaining in the half.

Foster used a balanced offensive attack to stay in, and nearly win the game.

Four Bulldogs finished with double figures in scoring, led by Cory Covarrubia and Max Montoya, who both scored 11 points. Connor Forsyth and Rashad Sang both netted 10 and Sam Woldemariam had nine points while also grabbing eight rebounds.

“They really played unselfishly, they played hard and they played together. They let the game come to them and that’s what happens, it just kind of works out,” Foster head coach Isaac Tucker said. “I was happy with the guys.”

Though it began the game missing nine consecutive free throws, Foster regrouped in the second half, going on a 7-0 run in just under a minute of action, taking a 39-33 lead with four minutes remaining in the third.

The streak began when Sang drilled a triple from the left wing. Moments later the guard stole the ball at mid court and raced towards the rim, dropping in a finger roll.

The ensuing inbounds pass was stolen by Straight, who calmly sank a deep two with the defense draped around him.

The six point Foster advantage would prove to be the team’s largest lead, but it was unable to hold on as the Seahawks (1-0) went on a run of their own, eventually taking the win.

“My kids are happy. Obviously they want to win, I want them to win but this is one of those games. This will set us on the right path. We don’t need to win every basketball game, we need to get better and get better. This was a huge step in the right direction,” Tuckers said.

Sealth will next take on Eastside Catholic while Foster is back in action against Lindbergh.