PORT ANGELES — The Port Angeles boys basketball team ended 2024 with a bang, winning a New Year’s Eve game against fellow Olympic Peninsula squad East Jefferson 76-26.
The Roughriders played without leading scorer Gus Halberg and got huge contributions from Brock Hope, Blake Sohlberg and especially Brody Pierce. Pierce led all scorers with 18 points despite not scoring until late in the second quarter.
East Jefferson is a young team with four sophomores and two freshmen on the varsity roster.
“This game was eight years in the making,” said East Jefferson coach Adam Washburn, praising the youth and middle school programs in the Port Angeles area that have helped build the foundation for the high school programs.
“They have experience and know how to play the right way,” he said.
“We will get better. This a game we need to learn from,” Washburn said.
Port Angeles coach Kasey Ulin was proud that his team made just two turnovers all game.
“Our defensive intensity was great,” Ulin said. “I loved how we played, our attention to details. We had two turnovers all game. We were taking care of the ball, our ball movement was really crisp. We had no Gus tonight and the guys just stepped up.”
East Jefferson actually kept the score competitive into the second quarter. After the Riders got up 12-2 early, Washburn called a timeout and the Rivals responded, finishing the quarter on an 8-2 run with Mercado scoring five points and Landon Hoppe hitting a 3-pointer, making the score 16-10 at the end of one.
The second quarter was rough for the Rivals, however, as Port Angeles outscored East Jefferson 25-1 to blow the game open at 41-11.
Pierce had a huge game. He had a steal and a bucket to end the first half, then in the third, hit two straight 3-pointers, had a blocked shot and then a rebound and a putback.
“Brody is a stud. He can play basketball at a really high level,” Ulin said. He also praised the games of Hope and Alex Angevine, who didn’t score a lot but made a lot of solid defensive plays.
“The plays that we ran for me, we went 2-for-2 [both Pierce 3-pointers]. My teammates set me up in good positions. I don’t think of myself as a scorer. To lead the team in scoring feels great.”
Sohlberg also hit a pair of 3-pointers and scored 14. Hope finished with 13, Matthew Miller eight, all in the first half, and Keatyn Hoch seven.
Leading the Rivals was Mercado with 11. Jared Diaz-Zavalza scored six.
Port Angeles (1-3, 4-5) has a few days off and next plays a monster game at home at 7 p.m. Tuesday against its Olympic Peninsula rival Sequim. The Wolves have been red-hot this season and are 7-0, leading the Olympic League with a 4-0 record.
“This was a great way to end 2024. We could easily be 7-2. We faced a lot of adversity in December [two overtime losses and two other one-possession losses]. I hope that makes us stronger,” Ulin said.
East Jefferson (1-5) plays at University Prep at 2:30 p.m. today. The East Jefferson girls play at University Prep at 1 p.m. today.
Port Angeles 76, East Jefferson 26
EJ 10 1 7 8 — 26
PA 16 25 20 15 — 76
East Jefferson (26) — Mercado 11, Diaz-Zavalza 6, O’Hara 4, Hoppe 3, Kruse 2.
Port Angeles (76) — Pierce 18, Sohlberg 14, Hope 13, Miller 8, Hoch 7, Flores 5, Benoit 3, Gedelman 2, Wallace 2, Angevine 4.
