UNIVERSITY PLACE — The Sequim boys basketball team will have to earn a place at regionals the hard way after falling to the Foster Bulldogs to open the West Central District Tournament at Curtis High School.
A win Wednesday night would have qualified Sequim (15-6) for the regional tourney, but the Wolves must now push through the consolation bracket and win loser-out games today against No. 9 Sumner (16-8) and Saturday against the winner between Clover Park and Olympic.
Today’s game is set for 6 p.m. at Bellarmine Prep in Tacoma.
Foster freshman Isaiah Lewis led all scorers with 19, with 13 of those coming in the second half.
The Bulldogs led 31-30 at halftime and the lead went back and forth during a tight third quarter.
Foster took a seven-point lead late in the contest, forcing the Wolves to foul to keep their hopes alive.
The strategy nearly worked as Foster missed a pair of free throws and Sequim rebounded the ball with three seconds left, but were whistled for a traveling violation before a game-tying heave could be attempted.
Erik Christensen scored 17 to lead Sequim, with Alex Barry adding 15 and Anthony Pinza finishing with 10.
Foster 67, Sequim 64
Foster 13 18 15 21— 67
Sequim 18 12 14 20— 64
Individual scoring
Foster (67)
Lewis 19, Robertson 13, Woldemariam 8, Mitchell 7, Sang 6, Covarrubia 6, Montoya 5, Straight 3.
Sequim (64)
Christensen 17, Barry 15, Pinza 10, Willis 10, Kallappa 6, Johnson 4, McConnaughey 2.
