SEATTLE — It was a battle between Port Townsend’s good offense and Seattle Christian’s strong defense and in the end, defense won out as Port Townsend fell in its second-round West Central 1A district playoff game 47-40, ending the Redhawks’ season.
“It was the second year in a row, they [Seattle Christian] banged us out of the playoffs,” said coach Tom Webster.
Port Townsend came in to Saturday’s game with 12 games under its belt with more than 60 points, but Webster said neither team could score as defense dominated.
“It was a really hard game. You get these in the playoffs. It was a real grind-it-out game. It was hard to score a basket for either team,” he said.
The Redhawks held the Warriors to just three points in the third quarter, taking a 33-29 lead into the fourth. But, the Warriors turned around and held Port Townsend to just seven points in the fourth. Seattle Christian also hit its free throws down the stretch to ice what was a close game, Webster said.
Detrius Kelsall scored 16 points for the Redhawks, but Seattle Christian managed to keep Berkley Hill, who was playing with a sore leg, to just eight points, 9 ½ points below his season average. Keidon Parcher scored nine points for Port Townsend.
The loss ends Port Townsend’s season with a record of 15-6. Despite two heartbreaking playoff losses (the Redhawks earlier lost to Bellevue Christian 62-61 in their playoff opener), it was otherwise a wildly successful year for the Redhawks, who won the Olympic 1A League title with an undefeated record in league at 9-0.
It was Hill’s final game for the team. That’s the bad news for the Redhawks. The good news is that everyone else will be back next year.
“He’ll be hard to replace,” said Webster.
“It was a special season. [15-6] is a huge step for us. I’m really proud of the guys,” Webster said.
Seattle Christian 47, Port Townsend 40
Port Townsend 11 10 12 7 — 40
Seattle Christian 13 13 3 18 — 47
Port Townsend (40) — Kelsall 16, Parcher 9, Hill 8, Montoya 4, Boucher 3.
Seattle Christian (47) — VanderLey 16, Toy 9, Loorem 7, Hohimer 6, Saggau 5, Howell 4.
