TULALIP — Tulalip Heritage senior Jesse Louie was emotionally driven to play his senior year.

He almost didn’t come out to play his final season, but he remembered his uncle Mikey John, who past away a couple of years ago.

Louie had his name written on his wrist when he led Heritage to a season-opening win over Grace Academy 52-48 Dec. 9, scoring 18 points while sinking five 3-pointers.

John was a huge influence on Louie, encouraging him to play basketball when he was in middle school.

“I just know there is someone watching over me,” Louie said. “I didn’t really have a dad growing up so he was like a father to me.”

They could have improved on defense in the first half, coach Marlin Fryberg said, but Louie was on fire.

“He shot the ball well, and we need more out of him,” Fryberg said.

Teammate Trevor Fryberg added 14 points, but Louie said they could tweak their overall game as the season progresses.

“We can shoot the ball,” Louie said. “We just got to knock down more of our shots.

“We just need to get the easy ones,” he said. “We know we should win these games. We have the talent.”

Next week, Tulalip hosts Orcas Christian Tuesday, Dec. 16, and is away against Lopez Wednesday, Dec. 17, and Providence Classical Christian, Thursday, Dec. 18.