PORT TOWNSEND — Despite a couple of monster games from Stuart Dow and Michael Petta, the East Jefferson boys weren’t able to overcome the loss of their leading scorer Keidan Guzman and fell to a good Life Christian team 69-61.
Guzman went down in the first quarter after scoring six points, said coach Emmanual Abbott. Michael Petta responded by leading the Rivals in scoring, shooting 8-for-9 from the floor and finishing with 18 points.
“We played well most of the game, but had some lapses,” Abbott said. “We had that big injury in the first quarter. Petta had a great game. He only missed one shot.”
Dow, listed at 6-foot-7, had 20 rebounds, including nine offensive rebounds, 11 points and six blocked shots.
Brody Moore ran the floor and contributed 13 points while Lorenzo McCleese scored 11 points.
The loss leaves the Rivals (4-8, 7-9) in seventh in the Nisqually League. They played Tuesday (after press deadline) at Bellevue Christian (5-8, 7-10), which is only a half-game ahead of East Jefferson. If they Rivals can win that game, they will jump Bellevue Christian in the standings into sixth. Abbott said this a huge game for East Jefferson’s postseason hopes. He is hopeful that Guzman will be able to return to that game.
The Rivals also have road games remaining against Vashon (9-3) and Annie Wright (14-0, No. 3 RPI) , two of the tougher teams in the Nisqually League and finish with Klahowya (3-8), one of the weaker teams in the league this year.
