Editors Note: Port Angeles won a tiebreaker with North Kitsap in Kingston on Saturday to determine who will be the Olympic League 2A Division No. 1 seed. The Roughriders (12-1, 16-4) beat the Vikings 68-64 and will get a first-round bye in the West Central District III 2A Tournament, hosting a game Friday.
By Pierre LaBossiere
Peninsula Daily News
SEQUIM — It was remarkable how similar and boys and girls’ games were Thursday night.
After watching the Roughrider girls go on a huge 28-7 run in the third quarter to fend off a spirited Sequim squad, the boys copied the girls’ achievement almost to a “T.”
The Sequim boys ended the first half on a huge high note, with Nate Despain hitting a 3-pointer and then converting an old-fashioned 3-point play with 2.5 seconds left in the half to give the Wolves a 27-19 lead going into halftime.
Sequim managed to build that lead up to 30-19, getting their enthusiastic home crowd fired up when Kyler Rollness opened the second half with a 3-pointer.
At that point, the Riders clamped down on defense and went wild on offense, allowing the Wolves almost no easy baskets or open looks the rest of the game. Port Angeles went on a 39-9 run over the rest of the third quarter and halfway into the fourth to blow open a game that the Wolves had been dominating, building up a lead to 58-39 and then cruising the rest of the way for a 63-48 win to give the Riders a share of the Olympic League 2A Division championship.
“This was a special win,” said Port Angeles coach Kasey Ulin.
“We challenged them at halftime. We talked about adversity and being resilient. For the first two quarters, we were timid and passive,” Ulin said. “We issued the challenge at halftime to show what they’re made of and to show their character.”
The first time Sequim and Port Angeles played this year, the Wolves got beat by 45 points. Wolves coach Greg Glasser was proud of how his team responded to that loss.
“When you get beat like that, you can get a little intimidated. Our boys weren’t. They were ready to play,” Glasser said.
“Our goal has been to play our best basketball. I’m proud of the how our guys did the last two games [Sequim beat Olympic on Jan. 29 to lock up third place in the Olympic League 2A Division.].”
In the second half, Ulin said the Roughriders simply executed better on offense and defense. The Roughriders took advantage of their size and long arms to block a flurry of shots and tip passes away from the Wolves, allowing just nine points over roughly a 12-minute stretch.
“We played with a sense of purpose,” Ulin said.
“We picked up everything,” said post player Liam Clark. “Our shooters hit their shots. I think Sequim got a little more tired and we got stops on defense.”
Clark also said the Riders concentrated on not letting the Wolves’ Despain drive to the hoop. Despain had 14 points in the first half and ended the game with 16.
“He was killing us in that first half,” Clark said.
“I give Sequim a ton of credit. They were pursuing the ball and played with a sense of urgency. They don’t just hand out league championships,” Ulin said.
Glasser thought the Wolves fell in love with their 2-3 zone a little too much. “We stayed with it longer than we should have. [Kyle] Benedict and [Payton] Schmidt are eventually going to shoot you out of it.”
Sequim must now prepare for the West Central District III 2A tournament. Glasser said it appears that the Wolves (7-5, 12-8) will play Renton (12-1, 16-6), which won the South Puget Sound League South Division, but tumbled to the No. 6 by losing its opening game in the SPSL tournament. That game will be at 7 p.m. Wednesday in Renton.
As for Port Angeles, Clark said it’s a relief to win a share of the league championship.
“Everyone has worked so hard. Everyone has been working in the gym year-round,” he said.
The Riders had a lot of balance on offense with Kyle Benedict scoring 19, Payton Schmidt 12, Clark 10 and Garrett Edwards 11.
Rollness hit four 3-pointers, three of them in the first half, and scored 13 for the Wolves.
Port Angeles 63, Sequim 48
PA 10 9 27 17 — 63
Sequim 10 17 12 9 — 48
Port Angeles (63) — Benedict 19, Schmidt 12, Clark 10, Edwards 11, Long 4, Johnson 4, Kathol 3.
Sequim (48) — N. Despain 16, Rollness 13, Young 6, Whitney 6, Christensen 5, Cowen 2,
