YAKIMA — The Port Angeles boys basketball team picked up a split of games against a couple of tough opponents at the Yakima SunDome Shootout, wrapping up a 3-1 record in nonleague games over the holidays.
The Roughriders lost 56-44 Friday night to the No. 8 4A team in the state, West Valley of Yakima. Port Angeles fell well behind in this game, but fought back in the second half to cut West Valley’s lead down to three points.
The Riders also beat Tumwater, allowing just 16 points in the second half in a 54-46 win.
Port Angeles plays in the SunDome Shootout most years over the Christmas holidays, usually facing some of the toughest 3A and 4A teams in the state.
Against West Valley, the Riders were outscored 19-6 in the second quarter to go into the halftime break down 35-24. They bounced back with a 10-3 third quarter to make a game of it at 38-34.
“That was our best defensive quarter of the year,” said coach Kasey Ulin.
The Riders were able to cut the deficit to three and just missed some inside shots from 4 to 5 feet away, or otherwise, Port Angeles could have pulled off the big upset. Ulin said a good 4A team like West Valley, which has a pair of Division I college commits on the squad, will always take advantage of those missed opportunities.
“They capitalized on every miss,” Ulin said.
Parker Nickerson hit three 3-pointers in the first quarter and finished the game with 17. Isaiah Shamp led the team with 18 points.
In the win over Tumwater, “we came in to the third quarter and played phenomenal defense,” Ulin said. “We went to different zone looks and Tumwater couldn’t get an open shot off.”
Ulin said the Riders probably should have won the game by 15 or 16 points, but struggled with 5-for-16 shooting from the free-throw line.
Nickerson had 25 points. Shamp didn’t have a lot of points with six, but contributed 14 rebounds and four steals. The Riders had good balance with four players beyond Nickerson with five or more points.
Tumwater beat Port Angeles 50-45 last year. They also beat the Port Angeles football team in the state playoffs back in November.
Ulin said the coaches didn’t talk about revenge against Tumwater for knocking the Riders out of the state playoffs, but with Nickerson, Ezra Townsend and Kason Albaugh on the football team, it may have given Port Angeles a little extra motivation.
“They talked about. The coaches didn’t,” Ulin said. “A little extra incentive like that can be beneficial.”
Port Angeles also beat W.F. West and Enumclaw last week, two solid 2A programs, in preparation for a tough Olympic League schedule. “We’re battle tested,” Ulin said. He also said it may have been a good, humbling experience for the Riders to have lost a road game a couple of weeks ago to Neah Bay because since then, the team has been much better.
“That woke us up,” he said.
The Roughriders (3-2, 6-3) return to league action on Tuesday on the road against Bainbridge (2-1, 4-1). That game is at 7 p.m. and is scheduled on the NFHS Network.
West Valley 56, Port Angeles 44
PA 18 6 10 10 — 44
WV 16 19 3 18 — 56
Port Angeles (44) — Shamp 18, Nickerson 17, G. Halberg 5, Dunning 4.
Port Angeles 54, Tumwater 46
PA 12 18 10 14 — 54
Tum. 21 9 9 7 — 46
Port Angeles (54) — Nickerson 25, Dunning 7, Shamp 6, Albaugh 6, G. Halberg 5, Heins 3, A. Halberg 2.
