PORT ANGELES — The Port Angeles boys basketball team went to work this week.
Thursday’s 48-45 win against Kingston was the Roughriders’ second Olympic League 2A win in three days, and earned the league’s No. 4 seed to the West Central/SeaKing District Tournament.
The victory came on the heels of a 57-54 win over third-place Bremerton on Tuesday that earned Port Angeles (6-6, 10-10) the tiebreaker for that fourth seed over Kingston (6-6, 10-10).
“We got two great wins this week, really program-building, character-building wins,” coach Kasey Ulin said.
“Now we are heading into the postseason with some momentum and the kids are excited.”
The Riders’ prize? Avoiding South Puget Sound League champion River Ridge (18-1), the No. 1 ranked team in the latest Associated Press poll.
Port Angeles will open district play at Steilacoom (13-6) on Wednesday at 7 p.m.
Senior Janson Pederson got the start on senior night against Kingston and took advantage.
He scored five early points to give the Riders a 12-3 lead midway through the first quarter.
“I’ve been coming off the bench usually this year, but I got the start tonight, and I came into this game thinking I was going to get some good shots up, play some defense and help the team get a win,” Pederson said.
“My shot was a lot better than what it’s been and I was proud of that.
“It got me going and got some momentum for the team.”
Port Angeles went through a rough patch offensively, missing 10 straight shots and going scoreless over a 6:38 stretch of the first and second quarters.
But freshman Liam Clark, a 6-foot-7 post, contributed three points and a block in the second quarter, as the Riders led 22-20 at halftime.
“Liam Clark, he’s just a big handful for other teams, and it will be fun to see him in district play,” Ulin said.
Pederson added seven more points in the third quarter, including a right-corner trey, to give the Riders a 34-28 lead with three minutes to go in the third.
He finished with 12 points.
“That was big, that was big,” Ulin said.
“He was a scoring machine. It was nice to see him shoot the ball well.”
But the Buccaneers battled back and took the lead on 7-0 run before Port Angeles’ Noah McGoff tied the score at 36 with a basket with 10 seconds left in the third quarter.
McGoff kept it up in the final frame, scoring seven straight points, including following up his own missed 3-point try for a layup and a 43-37 Riders’ lead.
McGoff led all scorers with 21 points, knocking down 9 of 14 shots, including three 3s.
“He was a stud,” Ulin said.
“He does so many things that you don’t see. I go back and watch film and am constantly impressed.
“He was playing in the middle of the 2-3 zone tonight, getting boards, steals.”
Grayson Peet and Lambros Rogers combined to hit five free throws down the stretch to preserve the victory.
“We trusted each other, we knew we were going to make some shots at the end and we executed that and got the win,” Pederson said of the fourth quarter.
Kingston had one last chance down three points in the final seconds.
Peet poked the ball away from a Buccaneers guard at halfcourt, initiating a scrum for possession.
Kingston’s Liam Young grabbed the ball and was fouled while heaving up a shot from just inside of halfcourt at the buzzer.
He received three free throws with no time remaining on the clock but missed the first to end the game.
“Overall, defensively we flew around, we didn’t give up anything easy,” Ulin said.
“Offensively, Our ball movement was crisper, we were more active off the ball and that opened up driving lanes.”
Port Angeles now gets a district-playoff matchup with Steilacoom on Wednesday, Ulin’s birthday.
“They push the pace, more of an up and down the court type team,” Ulin said of the Sentinels.
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Sports reporter Michael Carman can be contacted at 360-452-2345, ext. 5250 or at mcarman@peninsuladailynews.com.
