SEQUIM — The Sequim Wolves overcame 14 Washington 3-pointers, scoring 29 points in a wild fourth quarter to hold off the Patriots for a 78-68 season-opening victory.
The Wolves, coming off a Olympic League co-championship and a trip to the state 2A tournament last year, rode a huge game from veteran Solomon Sheppard, who scored 29. He also had a critical late game steal and a dunk in the final 2 minutes.
Also having a big game was Andy Reynolds, who scored 13 and had double-digits in rebounds, and returning veteran Mason Rapelje, who scored 19, including 15 points in the second half. Zeke Schmadeke also had a critical 3-pointer in the fourth quarter.
“We withstood a barrage of threes,” said coach Craig Brooks. “They took a lot but made a lot.”
Washington made 13 field goals in the second half, nine of which were 3-pointers.
“Today was exciting,” Brooks said. “There’s things they’ve been trying to do all summer. They did some of those things well today.”
The game was close with neither team able to build up a big lead until midway through the fourth when the Wolves took command. Sequim went into the fourth up just 49-46. The Wolves were able to push their lead to double-digits when Sheppard hit Rapelje with a perfect pass on a fast break for a bucket and a free throw. Reynolds added a putback basket and Sheppard hit a basket. Reynolds added a 3-pointer and Sheppard and Rapelje added buckets to make the score 63-51 with 5:20 left in the game.
While Sequim dominated the early part of the fourth quarter, Washington didn’t make it easy for the Wolves. Sequim still held a 13-point lead at 67-54 when the Wolves made three straight turnovers. The Patriots took advantage with two straight 3-pointers to quickly make the score 67-60 with 3:35 left.
The Patriots had all the momentum at this point, but Sheppard turned the tide with a crucial steal and basket. Zeke Schmadeke added a clutch 3-pointer to push the lead back to 72-62 with 2 minutes left in the game.
After a Washington 3-pointer, Sheppard got behind the defense on a long inbounds pass by Kaden Miller, the Wolves’ football quarterback, and was clear to the basket for a thunderous dunk with 1:35 left
Yet again, even that was not quite enough to put away the Patriots, who came right back and drilled another 3-pointer to make it 74-68 with over a minute left. Sheppard went down with a scary knee injury. He was not able to come back into the game, but thankfully for the Wolves, it did not turn out to be serious.
“Solomon tweaked the knee a couple of weeks ago,” Brooks said. “He puts a lot of pressure on himself.”
Without Sheppard, Rapelje did most of the ball-handling and was fouled twice in the final minute. He made all four free throws to keep the Patriots at bay for the final margin. Schmadeke finished with seven points and newcomer Nolan Bacchus six.
The two teams combined for 51 points in the fourth quarter.
Sequim (1-0) next hosts Kingston at 7 p.m. Thursday in the Wolves’ Olympic League opener.
Sequim 78, Washington 68
Wash. 13 18 15 22 — 68
Seq. 10 23 16 29 — 78
Sequim (78) — Sheppard 29, Rapelje 19, Reynolds 13, Schmadeke 7, Bacchus 6, Klimp 2, Green 2.
