SEQUIM — Jayson Brocklesby wasn’t going to be stopped.
The Sequim senior attacked the basket from the opening tip and finished with 35 points in the Wolves’ 85-70 victory over rival Port Angeles on Friday night.
The Roughriders’ defense couldn’t stop him from taking the basketball to the hoop, nor did offensive foul calls.
Because of his aggressive approach, the 6-foot-2 Brocklesby kept filling up the box score and threw down a few dunks that amped up an already intense rivalry atmosphere.
Wolves coach Greg Glasser said Brocklesby started playing more aggressive during Sequim’s 49-33 win over North Mason last week.
“A light [must have] turned on in his head on the bus drive from Belfair [after playing North Mason], and he said, ‘Hey, I can do that all the time,’” Glasser said of Brocklesby.
“And he has consistently done that for us [since then].”
Along with the 35 he scored against Port Angeles, Brocklesby has 22, 18, 21 in the Wolves’ last four games. In that span he is averaging 24 points per game. On the season, he leads the team with in scoring at 18.1 points per game.
Brocklesby did the most damage when his team needed it most Friday.
Midway through the third quarter, Hayden Gunderson and Garrett Payton led the Riders on a quick 8-0 run that cut Sequim’s 52-35 lead to a not-so-comfy 52-43.
But Brocklesby ended Sequim’s drought with a dunk. Then, he made a layup despite drawing an intentional found, and made 1 of 2 free throws. When he swished a 3-pointer with about two minutes left in the quarter, Sequim’s lead up to 63-48.
The Wolves added to the lead before the period ended.
Erik Christensen made a couple buckets and Gabe Carter took the ball up the court as the clocked ticked town and hit a mid-range shot from the left side as the buzzer sounded.
Sequim went into the fourth quarter with a 69-48 lead, and Port Angeles didn’t pose a serious threat the rest of the game.
On the other side, the difficult season of learning continued for the Riders, who fell to 0-9 on the year (0-7 in the Olympic League).
“Sequim is a good team,” Riders coach Brent Stephens after his first taste of the Port Angeles-Sequim rivalry.
“They’re senior-laden and they’re chiseled, they’ve been through a lot of battles so they do a good job of doing what they need to do to win.”
Stephens added that losing by just 15 points is a good sign for the largely inexperience Riders.
Gunderson topped Port Angeles with 25 points.
“Hayden shows flashes of being a very, very good player,” Stephens said.
Caleb Treider contributed 18, including a 3-pointer as the game clock expired, and Garrett Payton scored 14.
The Riders play two games on the road during Christmas break, and then they’ll have a week and a half off before playing Port Townsend.
Stephens said that break from games will allow crucial practice time for the Riders.
“We’ll have a marked improvement after that,” he said.
“The more time we get to practice, the better we’ll get.
“We’re coming along fine. We’ll probably play our best basketball in mid-January, maybe late-January.”
Port Angeles plays at Centralia on Thursday in a rematch of the Riders’ 92-53 home loss to the Tigers earlier this month and at Black Hills on Saturday.
Carter had another all-around performance for Sequim, scoring 16 points with seven rebounds and eight assists.
Sequim (6-1, 6-2) has the week off before heading to the Foothill Holiday Classic in Henderson, Nev. on Wednesday and Thursday, Jan. 2-3.
Sequim 85, Port Angeles 70
Port Angeles 15 15 18 22— 70
Sequim 25 19 25 16— 85
Individual scoring
Port Angeles (70)
Gunderson 25, Treider 18, Payton 14, Elliott 6, Angevine 3, Hathaway 6.
Sequim (85)
Pinza 6, Brocklesby 35, Carter 16, Shimer 4, Barry 8, Posadas 2, Christensen 6, Kallappa 8.
