YAKIMA — Port Angeles boys and girls basketball teams had close ties to teams that played in state championship games Saturday night.
Head-to-head results against the best teams in the state showed that Port Angeles teams were right there with them.
The Olympic League 2A Division’s North Kitsap Vikings, a team that the Port Angeles Roughriders beat, won the state 2A boys basketball championship Saturday night.
The Vikings beat Clarkston 56-53 Saturday in Yakima to win the 2A state title.
Port Angeles played North Kitsap in league twice this season, coming from 20 points down to beat the Vikings 65-64 in Port Angeles in January. That was the Vikings’ only league loss all season as they won the Olympic League 2A Division title, one game over Port Angeles. The Riders came in second with a record of 10-2 in league.
North Kitsap beat the Roughriders 75-60 in Poulsbo later in the season to earn the league championship.
The Port Angeles girls also played the 2A state champion early in the season. Lynden crushed West Valley of Spokane 60-38 to win the state title Saturday night.
Lynden narrowly beat the Riders 46-42 early in the season in a preleague game. The Riders went on to go undefeated in the Olympic League 2A Division and undefeated in district play, winning the West Central District III 2A championship. Lynden went on to go 26-1 on the season.
The Port Angeles girls also played Tumwater, which finished third in the state 2A tournament. The Riders lost 58-57 to Tumwater in the 2A regionals.
The Port Angeles girls played in the 2A state tournament, winning one game losing two close games. The Port Angeles boys fell one game short of qualifying for regionals.
The Riders boys also played Lynden Christian, which played in the 1A state championship game. Lynden Christian beat Port Angeles 62-61 on a controversial call late in the game. Lynden Christian lost the 1A championship game Saturday 70-67 in overtime to King’s.
The Port Angeles boys finished the season 17-7 overall while the Port Angeles girls finished 20-7.
Oakesdale, which beat Neah Bay in the state 1B girls tournament, went on to the championship game, losing to Inchelium 46-34 in the finals.
Other boys’ state champions include Brewster (2B), Garfield (3A) and Mount Si (4A). Other girls’ state champions include Liberty of Spangle (2B), Garfield (3A) and Central Valley (4A).
