BAINBRIDGE — Port Angeles showed its strength late against Class 3A Bainbridge, pulling away in the final two minutes for a season-opening 54-48 road boys basketball victory.
The Roughriders (1-0) produced stops defensively, cleaned the glass offensively for two huge putback baskets and hit their free throws down the stretch to outscore the Metro League’s Spartans 10-3 over the final 2:08.
Encouraging signs
“To see us come together in a pressure situation on the road in a game where we didn’t play our best offensively, it’s exciting and encouraging,” Port Angeles coach Kasey Ulin said.
Garrett Edwards and Gabe Long each came through with big offensive rebounds and putback baskets in the final moments.
“He [Edwards] plays so much bigger than he is and he went up over a guy with body control, avoided the foul to get the ball, jump stopped and went back up with it,” Ulin said. “He was determined to win that play.”
“Gabe Long, he’s about 10 pounds stronger than last season, snuck in from the weak side, went up for an offensive rebound on a 50/50 ball and made what was eventually the game-winning shot.”
Kyle Benedict was key in the fourth, as the senior guard scored eight of his 15 points in the final frame. Benedict knocked down four free throws late, including a 1-and-1 opportunity with 19 seconds to go and Port Angeles up 50-48 after Long’s putback.
“Kyle stepped up,” Ulin said. “He’s our leader and he made some big plays and got the troops together.”
Payton Schmidt led the Riders with 16 points. Liam Clark had a double-double with 12 points and 14 rebounds.
“Our guys knew they were going to win last night,” Ulin said. “There was a difference in the way we think. We were going to win and they earned it with how well they executed down the stretch. “It was great to see the guys focus on each trip the last two minutes.”
“We caused 22 turnovers, our defensive pressure was good, we switched up defenses and had success. Our guys did a great job of getting a hand in the face of their shooters.”
Port Angeles hosts Burlington-Edison (1-0) in the Riders’ home opener Saturday at 3 p.m. The 2A Tigers picked up a 72-62 win over 3A Meadowdale in their season opener.
Ulin said Burlington-Edison runs a Princeton offense, a constantly moving system which involves a lot of screens and backdoor cuts, which should provide a challenge defensively.
Port Angeles 54, Bainbridge 48
Port Angeles 12 10 13 19— 54
Bainbridge 13 10 13 12— 48
Port Angeles (54) — Long 6, Johnson, Benedict 15, Edwards 2, Schmidt 16, Methner, Jarnagin 3, Clark 12.
Bainbridge (48) — McCannon 16, Ward 10, Taylor 9, La Placa 8, O’Rourke 3, Nicholas 2.
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Sports reporter/columnist Michael Carman can be contacted at 360-417-3525 or at mcarman@peninsuladailynews.com.
