PORT TOWNSEND — The Crush in the Slush, a high school basketball tournament featuring eight boys and six girls teams, tips today and Saturday at Port Townsend High School.
The tournament opens at 9 a.m. today with a matchup between the Chimacum and Neah Bay girls.
Other area teams competing include the Port Townsend boys and girls and the Chimacum and Neah Bay boys.
The Cowboys and Red Devils boys will square off at 10:45 a.m. today.
The Crush in the Slush is a post-Christmas tradition hosted by the Port Townsend Basketball Club, and has produced numerous thrilling endings and upsets, and even seen a current NBA player take the floor.
That player, Kelly Olynyk, a former Gonzaga Bulldog, and a first-round draft pick by the Boston Celtics, saw his South Kamloops, B.C. team defeated in overtime by Port Townsend in the 2008 edition of the Crush.
This year’s tournament is organized into a boys large-school bracket featuring Class 3A Kelso (5-3), Class 2A North Kitsap (5-3) and Kingston (2-4), and 1A Nooksack Valley (1-7).
North Kitsap features sophomore point guard Cole Rabedeaux, who is averaging 21 points per game and 6-foot-9 senior Calvin Dennis who averages a double-double with 13.6 points and 13.1 rebounds per game.
The boys small-school bracket features Neah Bay (3-0), the No. 1 ranked 1B team, 2B Friday Harbor (4-2), Chimacum (1-5) and Port Townsend (0-5).
The Red Devils roster includes members of the recent back-to-back state championship football team like Chris Martinez, Kenrick Doherty Jr., John Reamer and more.
Junior Ryan Moss leads Neah Bay in scoring with 21.7 points per game.
Senior Abraham Venske, last season’s All-Peninsula MVP pick by the Peninsula Daily News and area coaches, is putting up 16.7 points, 11.7 rebounds and five assists per game this year.
On the girls side, Neah Bay (2-0), Chimacum (2-3), Port Townsend (0-6), Friday Harbor (4-1), Squalicum (4-4) and Nooksack Valley (6-2) will compete.
The Red Devils are led by senior post Faye Chartraw’s 16.5 points and 8.5 rebounds per game.
Championships for each bracket are determined by teams that are 2-0 and have allowed the fewest points.
Tournament play begins at 9 a.m. with the last tip scheduled at 7:30 p.m. both days.
Sponsoring the tournament this year are Homer Smith Insurance; The Business Guides of Charley Kanieski, CPA; Russ Hoover of Edward D. Jones; Jay Lawrence of Port Townsend Surgical Associates; Port Townsend Paper Corp.; Seton Construction; and the Port Townsend & Jefferson County Leader.
A full schedule of games can be found on Page B2.
