FOREST GROVE — A year after a disappointing runner-up finish in the 4A boys championship game, Seaside won its first basketball title Saturday with a 71-63 victory over Cowapa League rival Valley Catholic.
Senior Jackson Januik, a 5-foot-9 guard, led No. 1 Seaside (24-1) with 29 points, six rebounds, six assists and two steals. The Seagulls avenged their only loss of the season, which came to No. 3 Valley Catholic (20-6) on Feb. 10. Seaside beat the Valiants three times this season, including the final.
The Seagulls won the title in front of a huge traveling contingent of fans, which spilled over into standing room areas at Forest Grove High School.
“It’s amazing, seeing all these people from Seaside to support us,” said Januik, whose sophomore brother, Chase, scored 14 points. “It shows that we’re more than just a team, there’s a school and a community behind us that comes to every game and supports us. We’re so happy to bring this back to the city.”
The Seagulls fell behind 10-7, but went on a 14-4 run to take a 21-14 lead with five minutes left in the second quarter. The Valiants rallied late in the half, though, and Seaside led just 27-25 at halftime.
In the third quarter, Seaside started to pull away with another 14-4 run to make it 41-29. Valley Catholic continued to fight, but never got closer than six points the rest of the way. Seaside’s biggest lead was 15 in the fourth quarter.
“These kids battle, and we thought we were in better shape and would have a run here and there and we did,” Seaside coach Bill Westerholm said. “We wanted to get this done last year, but we grew a lot from it and have a bunch of fighters led by our seniors.”
Janiuk said last year’s team was so happy to get to the championship game that nerves got the best of them in a loss to Philomath.
“This year we were playing to win and weren’t going to settle for anything less,” Januik said. “I’ve been waiting for this for a year.”
Joey Braun led Valley Catholic with 16 points, while fellow senior Colin Haggerty added 14. The Valiants came up short in their first championship game at the 4A level. They won 3A titles in 2007 and 2014.
The teams combined to shoots 57 free throws in the second half, with Seaside making 21 of 30 and Valley Catholic 19 of 27. The Valiants had opportunities to make the game close late, but shot 1 of 13 from three-point range in the second half and 37 percent from the field overall.
Seaside shot 47 percent from the field and made 8 of 18 three-pointers.