YAKIMA — The Port Angeles boys basketball team mounted a furious comeback in the fourth quarter and had a last-second chance to tie the game, but fell short against No. 5-ranked Toppenish in a 59-57 loss Friday night at the Yakima SunDome.
“Toppenish jumped us early. They came out aggressive with a full-court press. We weren’t very disciplined early offensively and got behind 19-10,” said coach Kasey Ulin.
“It was a poor performance in the first half, but we really responded in the second half. Our fourth quarter was our best quarter of the year,” Ulin said.
The Roughriders held Toppenish, a 6-2 team, to six points in the fourth quarter and 1-for-13 from the field. They also went on a 14-2 run at one point.
“We had chances down the stretch to win it,” Ulin said. The game ended with Kason Albaugh purposely missing a free throw and the Riders trying to tip in the rebound. The ball didn’t fall and Toppenish was able to barely hang on for the win.
Parker Nickerson led the Riders with 27 points, six assists and five steals. Isaiah Shamp scored 20 points to to with eight rebounds. Dallas Dunning had seven rebounds and four blocked shots and Albaugh had seven assists and drew three offensive fouls.
The Riders lost both games at the SunDome Shootout (they lost to No. 2-ranked 1A Zillah on Thursday), but Ulin said it was a great experience for the team.
“These two games were awesome for us to learn and grow,” he said. He saw more growth from the team in these two tough games than he had seen all year.
The Riders (4-0, 6-3) next have a huge Olympic League game against rival North Kitsap (4-0, 5-3) on Tuesday. Ulin said North Kitsap also lost two games at the SunDome Shootout, including a 17-point loss to Selah on Friday, so he expected the Vikings to be fired up.
The game is at 7 p.m. in Poulsbo.
Toppenish 59, Port Angeles 57
Toppenish 19 15 17 8 — 59
Port Angeles 10 15 13 19 — 57
Toppenish (59) — Myers 1, Mesplie 2, Perez 28, Rivera 16, Cisneros 2, Sanches 0, Hanson 11.
Port Angeles (57) — Hunter 6, Hoch 3, Nickerson 27, Isiah Shamp 20, Martinez 2.
Sumner 78, Sequim 47
SUMNER — Going up against a 4A school at Sumner, the Sequim boys basketball team got off to a slow start and was never able to catch up in a 78-47 loss Friday night.
One highlight of the game was Vincent Carrizosa, who hit five three-pointers and scored 25 points.
Sequim (1-3, 3-6) re-enters league play on Tuesday, hosting Kingston (1-3, 1-5) at 7 p.m.
Sumner 78, Sequim 47
Sequim 8 12 16 11 — 47
Sumner 21 24 18 15 — 78
Sequim (47) — Carrizosa 25, Grider 6, Green 5, Wiker 4, Moore 4, Thompson 3.
Sumner (78) — Kastberg 20, Miller 18, Stonerock 11, Liedtke 8, Bresnahan 6, Hyppa 4, Bohl 4, Nordling 3, McLaughlin 2, Sikorski 2.
