PORT TOWNSEND — The postseason is different.
The game moves faster, the crowd is louder.
The moment is bigger.
Port Townsend elevated its play to a postseason level and beat Seattle Christian 44-33 in a 1A district play-in game Saturday night.
The Redskins host the Blaine Borderites on Tuesday night in the opening round of the 1A tri-district tournament.
“We’re in February fury,” Port Townsend coach Tom Webster said after the game.
“You win or go home.”
The Redskins put the clamps on the Warriors, holding them to single-digit point outputs in each of the final three quarters.
“The defense tonight was excellent,” Webster said.
“They average 55 points a game, and we held them to 33. It was a good effort.”
Port Townsend also had two good scoring quarters, the second and the fourth.
After trailing 11-6 after one quarter, the Redskins outscored Seattle Christian 18-7 to lead by six at halftime.
Cody Russell, who finished with a team-high 13 points, made three 3-pointers in the first half.
Neither team managed much offense in the third quarter, as the Warriors outscored Port Townsend 8-4 to cut the deficit to two points heading into the last eight minutes.
The fourth quarter was all Port Townsend, though.
With Will O’Brien running the point, the Redskins’ continually passed the ball around until someone finally got open, usually near the hoop for an easy basket.
“We took over in the fourth quarter,” Webster said.
“We passed well and figure out how to attack their zone.”
Seattle Christian, meanwhile, couldn’t buy a basket and Port Townsend’s rebounding didn’t allow the Warriors many second opportunities.
Brian LeMaster scored 11 for the Redskins, the sixth straight game the senior post has reached double figures in points.
Paul Spaltenstein scored nine points, Will O’Brien had five, Jacob King had four and Skyler Coppenrath scored two points.
“We played hard, rebounded well, our intensity was good,” Webster said.
“This is a big win for our community.”
Seattle Christian’s Cody Miller scored a game-high 17 points, but the other Warriors were held well below their scoring averages.
No other player reached double figures. Josh Perkinson scored six points, but not other Seattle Christian player score more than three points.
Port Townsend 44,
Seattle Christian 33
Seattle Christian 11 7 8 7— 33
Port Townsend 6 18 4 16— 44
Individual scoring
Seattle Christian (33)
Eble 2, Gunhus 3, Pierotti 2, Abe 2, Miller 17, Perkinson 6.
Port Townsend (44)
O’Brien 5, Russell 13, Coppenrath 2, LeMaster 11, King 4, Spaltenstein 9.
