By Michael Carman
Peninsula Daily News
HOQUIAM — Forks had trouble shooting the ball and stopping Montesano from doing the same and were ousted from the Class 1A Southwest District 4 Boys Basketball Tournament in a 64-37 loss Thursday at Hoquiam Square Garden.
“They shot 46 percent and we shot 22 percent,” Spartans coach Rick Gooding said. “We were 11 for 48 from the field. We didn’t shoot the ball well.”
A 22-6 second quarter spurt by the Bulldogs was all the cushion Montesano would need in the win.
“When some things weren’t working for us we got a little 3-happy in that second quarter,” Gooding said.
His team connected on just 6 of 31 three-pointers in the game.
Junior Cort Prose led Forks with 15 points. Senior Scott Archibald added 10 points.
“That was awesome,” Gooding said of Archibald’s contribution.
Gooding took the long-term view when assessing his team’s season which ended with a 15-6 overall mark.
“This group took the next step in making this team a program,” Gooding said. “We lost six seniors from last year’s team and these guys stepped up and were one game from a league championship. We didn’t reach our ultimate goal but these guys should be pretty proud of what they did. That pit you get in your stomach at the end of the season hopefully it’s not as big as the joy in their hearts. We really cared about each other.”
Forks will graduate seniors Archibald, Cole Baysinger and Jake Jacoby.
Montesano 64, Forks 37
Forks 7 6 13 11— 37
Monte 10 22 18 14— 64
Forks (37) — Johnson, Reaume, Jacoby, C. Baysinger 4, T. Baysinger, Prose 15, Armas 8, Baar, Archibald 10, Morton 2, Hernandez-Flores.
Montesano (64) — Johansson, Bates 8, Ridgway 11, Nicklas 16, Winter 10, Albert 4, Parker, Wyatt, Valley 5, Frazer 1, Dierkop 9, Iverson.
Clover Park 49, Port Angeles 46
TACOMA — The Roughriders led by seven in the second half but turnovers tipped the game in the Warriors’ favor and Port Angeles (15-9) was knocked out of the Class 2A West Central District Tournament two wins shy of a state regional berth in a loss Friday at Bellarmine Prep.
Kyle Benedict hit a free throw to pull the Riders within three points in the final seconds and then intentionally missed the second. Clover Park rebounded the ball but traveled with one second to go.
The Riders lacked any timeouts, so they had to play the ball in quickly and missed out on a game-tying shot attempt.
“We were so close to being right there and playing really good basketball,” Riders coach Kasey Ulin said.
“Unfortunately we didn’t have timeouts, we had to use them to break tempo and set up some shots earlier in the game, so we didn’t get a shot off at the end.”
Ulin said the contest was a very physical tough game.
“We started off playing well defensively and they made some adjustments to our defense,” Ulin said.
“We took a seven-point lead late in the second half, but then their pressure caused us some problems. We had two back-to-back turnovers and they scored on both to cut our lead to one. We called timeout, and we turned it over again and they took the lead.
“But our guys continued to fight and believe in each other and what we do.”
Some of those guys were missing, including senior guard Easton Joslin who left the contest with a sprained ankle. Port Angeles also was without Anton Kathol and Joel Wood who missed school due to the flu.
“We lost Easton, he sprained his ankle, but Gary Johnson came in and battled for us.
“Joel and Anton were sick and weren’t there, but there’s no excuses, these are everyday guys, they come to work, work their hardest and are team-first guys. Gabe Long came in and battled and rebounded, Colton [McGuffey] had four or five great rebounds and brought intensity and effort. That’s what it takes against one of the better teams in state, a state tournament team that’s been there before.”
Ulin called this year’s team, which featured the first group of seniors to play all four years program since he took over just before the 2014-15 season, “a really special group.”
“They are unselfish, great teammates, ” Ulin said. “Our seniors Colton, Andrew [Borde] and Easton are four-year guys, who all worked their way up and they all started on varsity at one point in their career. In four years our program, our expecations and the program’s culture has grown and we thanked them as a staff aafter the game for what they’ve done.”
Ulin said that while still mourning the end of this season, he’s looking forward to the journey ahead.
“To be able to compete for the league championship, to win your first district game, to compete at a high level against teams that are at state year-in and year-out, we are right there,” he said. “We are one of the best 16 teams in the state, I don’t have any doubt about that.
The Riders will return starters Kyle Benedict, Garrett Edwards, Liam Clark and Payton Schmidt, plus reserves Long, Wood, Kathol and Johnson. There’s depth in the program too, with the junior varsity going 18-2 and the C squad 17-1 this season.
“Our foundation is set and the future is bright,” Ulin said. “But we want to appreciate this group and what they have done because they are special and this year was special.”
Port Angeles 49, Clover Park 46
CP 8 11 13 17— 49
PA 11 7 14 14— 46
Clover Park (49) — Grasty 8, McDaniel 5, Mosley 4, Williams 18, Seeley 11, Shaw 3.
Port Angeles (46) — Long 2, Johnson 6, McGuffey 4, Joslin 3, Schmidt 3, Benedict 14, Edwards 12, Clark 2.
Vashon 53, Port Townsend 41 , OT
BREMERTON — The Redhawks rallied to get the game to overtime, but couldn’t complete the comeback and were eliminated in the postseason by the Pirates in a Class 1A West Central District Tournament contest.
“They scored a couple of quick baskets in overtime, we didn’t score, and we fouled them and they ended up shooting 12 free throws in overtime and made 10 of them,” Port Townsend head coach Tom Webster said.
“We made a good comeback. Noa [Montoya] hit two 3s in the fourth quarter and [Jacob] Boucher jacked one up from the parking lot with about 3 seconds left to play to tie it and send it to overtime.”
Webster said senior Payton Lake played well, scoring six points, defending well and hitting some free throws.
Leading scorer Kaiden Parcher was held to just eight points. Montoya led the team with 13 points.
“We didn’t play very well offensively in either one of our district games,” Webster said.
“We dug ourselves holes in each of our games and didn’t bring a big enough shovel.
“I’m proud of the boys, they had a good season. Obviously we wanted to go farther, but we struggled offensively. Bellevue Christian and Vashon each had three scorers in double figures in our district losses and we had one in both of those games. I don’t think we can win playing like that. It’s playoff basketball and everybody plays better defense.”
The Redhawks finished the season with an Olympic League 1A title and an 11-10 overall record.
Port Townsend will lose Parcher, Lake, Boucher, Jackson Foster and Robert Hammett Jr. to graduation.
Vashon 53, Port Townsend 41, OT
PT 4 514 16 2 — 41
Vashon 7 9 12 11 14— 53
Port Townsend (41) — Montoya 13, Parcher 8, Foster 6, Lake 6, Watkins 3, Boucher 3, Hammett 2.
Vashon (53) — Edmonds 14, Dellargy 14, Piatti 14, Chavez 6, Hoogans 3.
Mount Rainier Lutheran 69, Neah Bay 52
MOUNT VERNON — The Red Devils were ousted by the Hawks in a loser-out Class 1B Tri-District contest Thursday.
The loss ends Neah Bay’s season at 12-10 and the Red Devils’ run of consecutive state tournament appearances at nine.
Neah Bay opened strong, up 18-5 after one quarter, but committed 23 turnovers on the game and sent Mount Rainier Lutheran to the free throw line for 31 attempts (the Hawks hit 20).
Keith Johnson Jr. scored 16 points and had six assists for the Red Devils. Sean Bitegeko also scored 16 and added 11 rebounds. Captain Claplanahoo scored 11, including three 3-point baskets.
Mount Rainier Lutheran 69, Neah Bay 52
Neah 18 8 11 15— 52
MRL 5 24 19 21— 69
Neah Bay (52) — Johnson 16, Bitegeko 16, Claplanhoo 11, Brunk 6, Halttunen 3, Shaw, Kallappa, Croy, Martinez.
Mount Rainer Luth. (69) — Bailey 20, Pandell 15, Johnson 15, Shannon 12, Rodenback 7.
Girls Basketball Neah Bay 63, Mount Vernon Chr. 46
MOUNT VERNON — Courtney Swan busted loose for 31 points, 14 rebounds and five assists and the No. 3-ranked Red Devils advanced to the Class 1B Tri-District Championship game with a 63-46 win over the No. 6 Hurricanes on Thursday.
Swan knocked down 13 of 23 field-goal attempts, including 3 of 7 from 3-point range.
Neah Bay faced No. 7 Mount Rainier Lutheran for the Tri-District title late Saturday. The Red Devils are top-eight seed protected at state regionals next weekend and will play in the Class 1B State Tournament at Spokane later this month.
Ruth Moss added 13 points, eight rebounds and three blocks in the win over Mount Vernon Christian.
Neah Bay led 27-26 at halftime, but cracked down defensively after halftime, limiting the Hurricanes to just 6 of 30 shooting in the second half to pull away.
Neah Bay 63, Mount Vernon Chr. 46
Neah 11 18 17 17— 63
MVC 14 13 7 13— 46
Neah Bay (63) — Swan 31, Moss 13, Greene 8, McCaulley 4, Svec 3, Yallup 2, P. Swan 2, Winck.
Mount Vernon Chr. (46) — Droog 13, Faber 9, Hood 8, Lam 7, J. Hill 4, Wood 2, B. Hill 2, Russell 1.
Mount Vernon Christian 54, Clallam Bay 46 Clallam Bay 67, NW Yeshiva 46
MOUNT VERNON — Clallam Bay finished fourth in the Tri-District 1B Tournament.
The Bruins lost to Mount Vernon Christian 54-46 in their Tri-District 1B finale Saturday afternoon.
On Friday, Clallam Bay beat Northwest Yeshiva 67-46. The Bruins got huge contributions from the trio of Cedar Johnson, Miriam Wonderly and Hannah Olson to win that game.
“I think the travel is starting to wear on us,” said coach Michael Maines.
The Clallam Bay girls have traveled to Port Angeles, Marysville and now Mount Vernon in their Tri-District 1B sojourns.
Johnson led the team in the NW Yeshiva win with 26 points, adding eight rebounds, three assists and three steals. Wonderly and Olson both nearly had triple-doubles. Wonderly scored 16 points with nine steals and seven rebounds, while Olson had 10 points, 11 assists and nine steals.
Jada Clemmons added 10 points for the Bruins.
The girls got off to a quick start, taking a 17-6 lead after one quarter. The Bruins blew the game wide open in the third, outscoring the Lions 23-14 in the third to enter the fourth quarter with a comfortable 59-34 lead.
Clallam Bay had to overcome a huge game by NW Yeshiva’s Avital Jacobson, who scored 31 points.
The Bruins (15-8) begin 1B regionals play on Friday or Saturday. They are ranked No. 16 in the state in RPI, so they will likely in a loser-out game, winner-to-state game.
Clallam Bay 67, NW Yeshiva 46
CB 17 19 23 8 — 67
NWY 6 14 14 12 — 46
Clallam Bay (67) — Johnson 26, Wonderly 16, Olson 10, Clemmons 10, Anderson 2, Tyree 2.
NW Yeshiva (46) — Jacobson 31, Hemmat 8, Sandorffy 2, Weiss 1.
