TACOMA — Both the Port Angeles and Sequim boys basketball teams fell a game short of meeting each other for the third time this season with a regional berth on line.
Both teams, however, concluded successful winning seasons, just missing state competition by a win, considering that regionals are the start of state play.
The Roughriders ended their season with a 62-42 loss to Olympic League champion Kingston while the Wolves exited with a 53-45 loss to Foster.
District semifinals
Both games came in the 2A West Central District loser-out consolation semifinals during Presidents Day on Monday.
Both games were played at Foss High School in Tacoma.
Kingston 62,
Port Angeles 42
One bad quarter doomed the Riders.
They trailed just 27-24 at halftime but a 20-6 run by the Buccaneers in the third quarter made a hole too deep for the Riders to dig out.
Port Angeles made just 2 of 14 shots from the field and 1 of 8 from the free-throw line in the third period as the Bucs pulled away.
“Kingston had their inside-outside game going and we went cold,” Port Angeles coach Wes Armstrong said.
“Kingston did a pretty good job defensively.”
Hayden McCartney, who ended the season on fire, netted a team-high 16 points while teammate Cameron Braithwaite added 11.
Sam Byers sank a game-high 17 and hauled down 12 rebounds for the Bucs while K.T. Deam added 16.
Still, the Riders end the season on a high note with a 17-8 overall record, tied for second place in league and earning the No. 3 seed into the playoffs.
“I’m proud of the way we ended the season,” Armstrong said.
“And I’m really proud of the high school career the seniors have had.”
The Riders will be losing seven seniors to graduation, including Easton Napiontek, who missed most of the season to injury after starting out like gang-busters in the first couple of weeks.
“The seniors have done a good job of setting the standard the past three years that I have been coaching by the way they have worked so hard,” Armstrong said.
“They have taught the younger kids to work hard.
“We’re going to miss them.”
The seniors are Braithwaite, Keenen Walker, Reggie Burke, McCartney, Cole Uvila, Jordan Norberg and Napiontek.
Kingston 62, Port Angeles 42
Kingston 9 18 20 15— 62
Port Angeles 7 17 6 12— 42
Individual scoring
Kingston (62)
Combs 8, Sander 2, Deam 16, Byers 17, Jones 2, Sundquist 2, Mays 8.
Port Angeles (42)
Braithwaite 11, Walker 6, Burke 2, McCartney 16, Elliott 3, Norberg 4, Uvila.
Foster 53,
Sequim 45
The Wolves came charging back in the second half after being down 23-9 at halftime in a defensive first half.
Sequim made a game of it but couldn’t quite make up for the first-half hole.
Three players scored in double figures for Foster as Cedric Cooper swished in 17 while Jordan White canned 11 and Gabe Gutierrez added 10.
Three seniors played their final game for Sequim, including Corbin Webb, Frank Catelli and Evan Hill.
The Wolves have been a three-headed attack this season with the bulk of the scoring coming from the Big Three of Webb and juniors Jayson Brocklesby and Gabe Carter.
The good news, of course, is that two of the three are coming back.
No other details of Monday’s playoff game were available.
