SEQUIM — It took three quarters for the Sequim boys basketball team’s offense to show up.
Once it did, the rival Port Angeles Roughriders — whose own offense was missing in action as well — didn’t have an answer.
The Wolves earned their second straight home win against the Riders on Friday night, riding a 25-9 fourth quarter a 45-31 victory at Rick Kaps Gymnasium.
Sophomore post Frank Catelli was perfect from the field (4-of-4) and free throw line (2-of-2) on his way to 10 points and six rebounds for Sequim.
Senior John Textor had nine points and four assists, senior Jeremie Oliver had nine points and sophomore Corbin Webb added five points and four assists as Sequim ended Port Angeles’ four-game win streak in impressive fashion.
“They came out and took our post game away, and our perimeter guys just kind of stood there and watched,” first-year Port Angeles (3-2 in league, 4-3 overall) coach Wes Armstrong said.
“You’ve got to give Sequim kudos. They played really hard, and they wanted it more than us tonight. We really struggled on the offensive end.”
Both teams were offensively inoffensive through three quarters, with Port Angeles ahead 22-20 at that points.
Yet Sequim seemingly turned the switch in the fourth, as its deliberate five-man motion offense produced several good looks in the final eight minutes.
The Wolves (3-1, 3-2) capitalized, knocking down 7-of-12 shots from the field.
That included two putbacks from Catelli and back-to-back Webb entry passes to a cutting Oliver that were converted into layups to begin the frame.
Nick Camporini hit the second of his two 3-pointers on the night after Oliver’s last lay-in, handing Sequim its first lead of the game at 27-26 with 5:10 left.
It was an edge Sequim never relinquished, as it outscored Port Angeles 18-5 the rest of the way.
“We had the same play, and we ran it about four times in a row and we got [baskets] two out of four times,” said Webb, now 2-1 against Port Angeles.
“That’s where we’re best, is when we slow it down, spread it out and look for back cuts.
“We’re definitely getting a lot more team chemistry going, and we’re just building and building.”
Stopped short
Port Angeles appeared to be on the rise heading into Friday’s game, posting point totals of 73, 60, 49 and 70 in four straight wins.
Yet against a disciplined Sequim defense focused on denying Port Angeles post players Steve Rogers (five points) and Justin Williams (six points), the Rider offense never got into gear.
The result: an 11-of-44 shooting night that also included 22 turnovers to Sequim’s 11.
That more than made up for the Wolves’ own shooting struggles (15-of-49).
“Rogers is tough in the post and so is Williams, so you have to do something to slow them down,” Sequim coach Greg Glasser said.
“We tried to just basically keep them in front of us and send somebody to double [team] them. And it worked tonight.”
Antonio Stevenson led the Riders with 12 points on 4-of-15 shooting, while Colin Wheeler added five points and five rebounds.
Port Angeles hit just 6-of-12 free throws.
A pair of misses on the front end of one-and-ones in the fourth quarter were particularly backbreaking.
“We played like a very tight team tonight,” Armstrong said.
“Sequim played their game. They dictated the tempo. They did a good job of running their offense.
“They just did a better job of executing in that fourth quarter, too.”
Sequim 45, Port Angeles 31
Port Angeles 13 3 6 9 — 31
Sequim 7 8 5 25 — 45
Individual Scoring
Port Angeles (31)
Williams 6, Stevenson 12, Hofer 2, Wheeler 5, Rogers 5, Martin 1.
Sequim (45)
Webb 5, Camporini 8, Textor 9, Oliver 9, McMinn 2, Alcafaras 1, Brocklesby 1, F. Catelli 10.
