JOYCE — Clallam Bay built a lead in the first half and held it in the second half to open North Olympic League boys basketball play with a 51-38 win over Crescent on Friday night.
The Bruins led 16-9 after one quarter and 28-17 at halftime thanks to a strong defensive effort.
“We told them to come out aggressive and help on defense,” Clallam Bay coach Kelly Gregory said.
“Our goal is to hold teams under 40 points, and we did that.”
Gregory was particularly pleased with the defense on Loggers’ standout Derrick Findley.
“The guys who guarded Findley did a good job,” Gregory said.
“He’s going to get his points, but we held him in check until the fourth quarter.”
Findley finished with 19 points, including 10 in the final quarter.
The Bruins were led by Kevin Hess, who finished with 16 points, nine rebounds and five assists.
“He’s a tough, rugged player for us,” Gregory said of Hess.
“He had a nice all-around game.”
Kelly Gregory, son of coach Gregory, added 13 points for Clallam Bay. He also had three steals.
Everyone gets on board
Casey Randall and Austin Ritter scored six points each. Ritter and Justin Welever both tallied six steals.
“Everyone contributed,” coach Gregory said.
“It was a total team effort.”
In addition to Findley’s 19 points, Crescent also got 10 points from Martin Waldrip.
After trailing by 11 at halftime, the Loggers battled Clallam Bay fairly even in the second half.
Both teams were held to just five points in the third quarter.
In the fourth, the offenses came alive and the Bruins outscored Crescent 18-16.
Clallam Bay and Crescent will both play in Port Angeles early this week.
The Bruin face the Roughriders’ C team on Monday while the Loggers play Port Angeles JV on Tuesday.
Clallam Bay 51, Crescent 38
Clallam Bay 16 12 5 18— 51
Crescent 9 8 5 16— 38
Individual scoring
Clallam Bay (51)
Ritter 6, Welever 2, Cheeka 2, Goplen-Dean 4, Gregory 13, Randall 6, Willis 2, Hess 16.
Crescent (38)
Walker 3, Fadness 4, Larson 2, Findley 19, Waldrip 10.
