PORT TOWNSEND — Port Townsend’s offense clicked all game long in a 62-44 Class 1A West Central District loser-out boys basketball playoff victory over the Orting Cardinals on Wednesday.
The win advanced the Redskins into the 1A Tri-District, with Northwest District No. 4 Coupeville coming to town tonight at 5 p.m. for another loser-out contest in Bruce Blevins Gymnasium.
“The offense really executed well, we got solid games from Seiji [Thielk] and Jacob [DeBerry] and our other guys all chipped in,” Redskins (8-13 overall) coach Tom Webster said.
DeBerry was a steady influence, putting up six points in the first, six in the second and seven in the third quarter on his way to a team-high 20 points.
Thielk added 19, while sitting for the final five minutes of the third quarter after drawing his third personal foul.
Webster challenged his post players to take over the paint halfway through the first quarter, after seeing Orting take advantage of offensive rebounds and earn second-chance points to trail just 15-13 after one quarter.
“We knew Orting would play a physical style and that we would have to box out and avoid giving them opportunities off the glass,” Webb said.
Orting employed a hockey-like substitution pattern, subbing in a brand new five players every few minutes in the first half.
“It can cause problems when a whole new wave of players comes in and you are playing man-to-man defense, but we went over it with the guys and they knew what was coming,” Webster said.
Port Townsend clamped down on defense in the second period for a 27-17 halftime lead.
The Redskins pushed their advantage to 34-21 in the third before Thielk picked up his third foul.
Orting’s Evan Chandler then scored six in a row as the Cardinals chipped the score to 34-27.
DeBerry was fouled on three of four trips down the floor for Port Townsend in the third quarter, hitting 5 of 6 from the line as the Redskins went ahead 38-27 after three.
The Redskins went on a 10-0 run spanning the final minute of the third and the early moments of the fourth to take a 44-27 lead.
Port Townsend hit 11 free throws down the stretch to ice the win.
Matt Juran added six points, all on offensive putbacks, and Hab Rubio scored nine points in the final quarter for Port Townsend.
PORT TOWNSEND 62, ORTING 44
Orting 13 4 10 17 — 44
Port Townsend 15 12 11 24 — 62
Individual Scoring
Orting (44)
Fox 13, Chandler 11, Lewis 7, Harvell 4, Como 3, Moreno 2, Cowan 2, Pennock 2.
Port Townsend (62)
DeBerry 20, Thielk 19, Rubio 9, Juran 6, Ristick 2, Coppenrath 2, Shively 2, Solvik 2.
