SPOKANE — The Neah Bay boys basketball team started off the season slowly at 2-3, but made it to the semifinals at the state 1B tournament, ultimately finishing fifth in the state.
The Red Devils’ season came to a close with a record of 19-7 after losing a close game 56-51 to DeSales on Saturday. It was the second time in the state playoffs that DeSales narrowly beat Neah Bay. The Fighting Irish finished third in the state as Wellpinit won the state championship by beating Mossyrock 60-56. Wellpinit beat Neah Bay on Friday in the semifinals 72-57.
Along the way, Neah Bay had a 15-game winning streak.
The game came down to the final seconds. The game went back-and-forth with six ties and four lead changes. Neah Bay’s biggest lead was early in the first quarter at 9-1 and DeSales’ biggest lead was five points.
The final tie came at the four-minute mark with the teams knotted at 47-47 after DeSales’ Spencer Green hit a 3-pointer. The Irish were able to open up the lead to 54-49 in the final minute, but Makyah Chambers gave the Red Devils a chance with a steal and a basket with 14 seconds left to make it 54-51.
Neah Bay had a chance for a potential game-tying shot from the wing with two seconds left, but the Red Devils turned the ball over and never got the shot off. DeSales made a couple of free throws with one second left to ice the game.
Tyler Swan and Daniel Cumming led the Red Devils with 13 points and seven rebounds each. Swan added four assists. Chambers had 12 points. Seactis Woodruff had seven points and seven rebounds.
In the regional round of the state playoff, DeSales beat Neah Bay 65-60. It was a game in which the Red Devils nearly pulled off a miracle comeback after being down 12 points with less than four minutes to play. Neah Bay had a chance at a game-tying 3-point shot in the final seconds, but it didn’t go in.
DeSales 56, Neah Bay 51
DeSales 8 20 11 17 — 56
Neah Bay 9 16 17 9 — 51
DeSales (56) — C. Green 26, S. Green 10, Wood 6, Filan 6, Dalof 5, McCollaugh 3.
Neah Bay (51) — Swan 13, Cumming 13, Chambers 12, Woodruff 7, Jimmicum 3, Greene 3.
Friday’s game
Wellpinit 72, Neah Bay 57
SPOKANE — Neah Bay landed the opening salvo, but its early 10-point lead was merely a body blow in a 72-57 loss to defending champion Wellpinit in a Class 1B boys basketball state semifinal Friday night at the Spokane Arena.
Neah Bay scored the initial basket of the second quarter to take a 21-11 advantage, but it was all Wellpinit after that.
No. 2-seeded Wellpinit (23-2) clamped down defensively, scoring buckets in transition, at the free-throw line and from beyond the arc — while also taking advantage of the absence of Tyler Swan with three first-half fouls — as part of a 17-0 run that put Wellpinit up 28-23.
Neah Bay’s Makyah Chambers personally tied the game up with a 3-point shot and a layup for a 30-30 game at halftime.
Wellpinit, however, came out on fire after the break, spotting the Red Devils a free throw before going on an 18-0 run to open the third quarter and take a 48-31 lead.
Neah Bay worked to get back into the game, trimming the lead to 53-40 after three quarters, and getting the score down to a seven-point gap with less than 4 minutes to go in the game, but the Redskins had answers for every Red Devils score down the stretch.
Chambers led Neah Bay with 18 points.
Grant Denison III was Wellpinit’s leading scorer with 26.
Wellpinit 72, Neah Bay 57
Neah Bay 19 11 8 19 — 57
Wellpinit 11 19 23 19 — 72
Neah Bay (57) — Chambers 18, Swan 12, Wimberly 8, Jimmicum 8, Cumming 6, Woodruff 5, M. Greene, R. Greene, Akin, Vitalis, Ancheta-Chartraw, Angeles.
Wellpinit (72) — Denison III 26, An. Moyer 14, Wynne 13, E. Leyva 9, McCrea 3, Montgomery 3, Rima 2. 2, C. Leyva 2,
