PORT TOWNSEND — Chimacum knocked off the one opponent that’s always circled on the schedule before the season starts, and did it to the Port Townsend Redskins on their home floor and in their own holiday tournament, with a 70-64 win in another classic entry in the Rhody Drive rivalry.
After what Cowboys coach Jim Eldridge called an “out-of-sync performance” in their last game, a home loss to Life Christian, Eldridge told his players, “I shouldn’t have to coach effort; it should come automatically from you guys, and if I have to coach that we are going backwards.”
“Tonight we had that effort,” Eldridge said after Friday’s win over Port Townsend. “There were a few lapses here and there, but for the most part, that’s all you can ask for.”
Chimacum (1-5) looked up to the task in the early going of the Crush in the Slush nightcap, jumping to a 7-0 lead and quieting the spirited Redskins crowd.
Then Port Townsend’s Cody Russell stepped in front of a pass at the top of the Cowboys’ 3-point line and raced down the court for an impressive two-hand slam dunk with 5:40 to play in the first quarter.
Game on.
Port Townsend (2-5) used the momentum from that dunk to go on a 20-2 run, paced by two 3-pointers by Sean Dwyer, over 6:30 of the first and second quarters.
Chimacum’s Quinn Dowling ended the run with a 3-pointer with 7:15 left in the half that cut Port Townsend’s lead to 20-12.
The Cowboys pulled within two, 22-20 on a 3 from sophomore Christopher Bainbridge with 3:09 left in the quarter, and tied it at 22-all after a steal and layup by 5-foot-5 junior Victor Hitt.
At halftime, the score was even at 26-26.
“In the second quarter, we quit sharing the ball and had a pretty bad stretch of about six shots when we had the lead and gave them the momentum going into halftime,” Port Townsend coach Tom Webster said.
“When you have a team down like that you have to take advantage and we didn’t.”
Paul Spaltenstein was a force on the inside for Port Townsend in the third quarter, scoring 11 of his game-high 25 points, including four consecutive baskets to give the Redskins a 37-31 lead with 3:12 left in the quarter.
Chimacum trimmed the lead down after two free throws from sophomore Samuel Golden, another Bainbridge 3 pointer and a basket by Brendon Naylor.
The Cowboys briefly took the lead 42-41 on a Dowling jumper with 15 seconds to play before Spaltenstein beat the buzzer with a layup to give the Redskins a 43-42 advantage after three quarters.
Chimacum kept coming, firing and hitting shots to open the fourth quarter, with Port Townsend losing the lead on a 3-ball from Hitt with 6:15 remaining to put the Cowboys up 47-45.
Spaltenstein tied it up on the next trip down before two consecutive 3-pointers by John Carthum put the Cowboys ahead 53-47 with 5:15 to play.
Dwyer cut the lead in half for the Redskins, answering back with his third of four 3-balls, to pull Port Townsend to 53-50.
Chimacum then went on an 8-0 run over the next 2:35 to take a 61-50 lead with 2:15 remaining.
“If we can get both aspects of our game going, inside and outside play, I think we can compete,” Eldridge said of the Cowboys.
The Redskins pulled within six points, 61-56, with 1:30 left after a layup and foul shot by Jacob King and a two-pointer from Spaltenstein.
Needing to extend the game, Port Townsend started intentionally fouling Chimacum, who hit 9 of 12 from the foul line down the stretch to ice the game.
Naylor was nails from the line in the final minute, hitting 4 of 4, with Dowling going 2 for 2 and Carthum 4 for 5.
Carthum lead a balanced Chimacum offense with 16 points. Naylor, Weller and Dowling each had nine and James Porter added eight.
“All credit to Chimacum, they did their job, Webster said.
“They hit a ton of shots and hit their free throws at the end ,and we will get them again in a couple of weeks for the Widge Black Trophy.”
Port Townsend and Chimacum meet again Thursday, Jan. 9.
Chimacum 70, Port Townsend 64
Chimacum 9 17 16 28— 70
Port Townsend 18 8 17 21— 64
Individual scoring
Chimacum (1-5)
Carthum 16, Naylor 9, Weller 9, Dowling 9, Porter 8, Hitt 7, Bainbridge 6, Dotson 4.
Port Townsend (2-5)
Spaltenstein 25, Dwyer 16, Russel 10, King 5, Delagarza 4, Adkins 4.
