POULSBO — It was the little things that killed Port Angeles’ chances at upsetting No. 3 North Kitsap in a 75-60 loss on the Vikings home floor Friday night, according to Roughriders head coach Kasey Ulin.
The clash for first place in the Olympic League boys basketball standings race put North Kitsap (7-1, 14-2) in pole position in the league title chase and sent Port Angeles (6-2, 11-5) sliding to second with four league contests remaining.
“They made shots, they finished at the rim,” Ulin said of North Kitsap. We missed some layups, we turned it over at critical times. The game was right there and little tiny things lead to victory in that kind of an atmosphere.”
Port Angeles opened hot, hitting its first three shots and holding a 17-14 advantage in front of a packed house in Poulsbo after one quarter, but early foul trouble for senior guard Gary Johnson and senior Anton Kathol soon impacted the contest.
Johnson locked down McMillian in the second half of the team’s first matchup back on Dec. 18, a thrilling 65-64 Riders’ win that saw Port Angeles rally from a 20-point deficit.
McMillian had the hot hand from early on and finished with 28 points.
With the Riders’ defense keying on McMillian’s drives, sophomore sharpshooter Jonas La Tour got going in the second quarter, scoring eight of his 17 points.
Kathol picked up his third foul midway through the second quarter — just as the senior was finding his jump shot from the floor. With Kathol forced to sit out the remainder of the half, North Kitsap took advantage on the offensive and defensive glass and went up 32-27 at halftime.
“With Anton in foul trouble, that changes us in the zone,” Ulin said.
“We were really effective with him in the zone. That was a tough one because when he was in the game it was pretty even and we couldn’t find our flow offensively with him out of the game. We had to try to adjust a little bit.”
The Vikings followed up with a 7-0 spurt coming out of the locker room to open the third quarter.
“That was a big momentum change,” Ulin said. “We made a turnover, they scored, another turnover, they scored and then hit a 3 and it was a seven-point swing to start the third and they seized momentum there. That’s exactly what we wanted to do. We wanted to come out, execute and cut their lead down.”
The cupboard was empty inside when Port Angeles really needed to whittle its way back into the game in the third, but the second-chance opportunities on putbacks and resets didn’t go the Riders’ way.
“They made shots, they attacked the rim, they finished through contact,” Ulin said of North Kitsap.
“I thought they beat us to 50-50 balls and that’s something we pride ourselves on. Our values are defense, rebounding and effort. We allowed 75 points and our goal is 59 and under.”
Even with the Vikings in control of the contest, it never really felt like Port Angeles was completely out of it.
That included when Kathol fouled out late in the third quarter after earning a technical foul while arguing against a personal foul that had just been whistled on him — that foul coming after Kathol encountered some contact in the post that wasn’t called.
Port Angeles was able to cut the Vikings’ lead down to 11 at multiple points in the final frame but could never break out for a big comeback run as they had in the team’s first matchup.
Shaa Humphrey sealed the deal for North Kitsap with a big three. Ten of his 15 points came after halftime. He had been slowed by an ankle injury in the team’s first matchup.
“All three of those guys [McMillian, La Tour, Humphrey] had moments,” Ulin said. “They are extremely dangerous. I still think that’s two of the top 10 2A teams in the state.”
Playoff chase
Port Angeles isn’t eliminated from a shot at the Olympic League title but would need North Kitsap to falter down the stretch against teams they have already soundly beaten.
So the Riders appear destined for the Olympic League’s second seed to the district tournament which would provide for a first-round home playoff game.
Sequim’s (5-3, 10-6) 52-42 win over Bremerton (5-3, 9-5) on Friday puts the Wolves in a tie for third with the Knights with Olympic (4-4, 5-10) still alive in fifth. The top four teams will advance to the district tournament.
North Kitsap 75, Port Angeles 60
Port Angeles 17 10 18 15— 60
North Kitsap 14 18 26 18— 75
Port Angeles (60) — Cobb 13, Kathol 12, Ringgold 12, Clark 8, Methner 5, Johnson 4, Bowechop 4, Dunning 3, Maestas, Vaara.
North Kitsap (75) — McMillian 28, La Tour 17, Humphrey 15, J. Olmsted 6, Chmielewski 5, A. Olmsted 4.
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Sports reporter/columnist Michael Carman can be contacted at 360-417-3525 or at mcarman@peninsuladailynews.com.
Gary Johnson III looks for room to pass or drive while guarded by North Kitsap’s Kobe McMillian during the Vikings’ 75-60 win over the Roughriders. (Mark Krulish/Kitsap News Group)
Port Angeles’ John Vaara looks to close off the room to maneuver for North Kitsap’s Aiden Olmstead (Mark Krulish/Kitsap News Group)
