YAKIMA — Ninth-seeded Sequim held double-digit leads in the first and third quarters, but the Wolves couldn’t hang on, letting No. 8 Mark Morris back into the game and eventually bowing out 69-59 in a Class 2A boys basketball state tournament loser-out contest Wednesday afternoon at the Yakima Valley SunDome.
The Wolves played the passing lanes perfectly defensively during a 13-2 burst over the first 2:29 of the second half — highlighted by 3-point baskets by Jericho Julmist and Solomon Sheppard as Sequim went up 47-36 with 5:16 left in the third.
Julmist had 10 of his 28 points in the third quarter as Sequim built its second double-digit advantage.
But Mark Morris patiently pulled back with a big 17-0 run over the end of the third and start of the fourth quarters to seize back momentum and the lead when Jadyn Brooks tossed in a short shot from a tough angle inside to put Mark Morris up 52-51.
Mason Rapelje’s elbow jumper pulled Sequim within 59-55 with 2:30 to play, but the Wolves would come no closer and were forced to foul to extend the contest.
Sequim’s hot start to open the game included a pair of Mason Rapelje 3-point baskets, Zeke Schmadeke diving on the floor to save a possession and finding Julmist for a basket and Julmist going baseline with a reverse layup in traffic.
A corner triple by Julmist late in the first quarter pushed Sequim to its largest first-half lead at 19-9.
Mark Morris rallied back in the second quarter, slowing the game down and avoiding the struggles in the backcourt that the Wolves feasted on early.
Dalton Stevens heated up for the Monarchs with 12 second-quarter points, including a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from well beyond the 3-point line to tie the contest at 34-all at halftime.
Sequim had no answers for Stevens inside. He finished with 30 points on 11-of-14 shooting on 2-point shots and 13 rebounds.
Sequim finished the season at 20-5, including a share of the Olympic League title.
Julmist, the team’s leading scorer, is just a sophomore, while Sheppard, the league’s co-defensive MVP, is a junior.
Mark Morris (21-5) improved to 4-0 all-time against Sequim in the state tournament. The Monarchs advance to face their Longview rival No. 2-seed R.A. Long (23-1) for the fourth time this season (0-3 in previous contests) in a state quarterfinal matchup today.
Mark Morris 69, Sequim 59
Seq. 23 11 17 8 — 59
MM 18 16 14 19 — 69
Mark Morris (69) — Stevens 30, Brooks 13, Stephens 7, Bogner 7, Ibaretta 5, Hendrickson 5, West 2.
Sequim (59) — Julmist 28, Sheppard 13, Rapelje 10, Melnick 6, Schmadeke 2, Grider, Weidman.
