PORT ANGELES — Forks struggled from the floor in the early going and couldn’t keep pace with the Class 4A Auburn Mountainview Lions in a 52-33 loss in the first game of the Port Angeles Holiday Basketball Tournament.
Port Angeles won its tournament game over Rochester 85-19.
The Spartans (5-2) shot just 6 of 24 from the field in the first half and trailed 32-14 at the break as Auburn Mountainview took advantage in transition.
“It’s a tough one to explain, there wasn’t a lot of energy,” Forks coach Rick Gooding said. “We came off a huge win at Tumwater, played Chimacum, and it’s great to have a wake-up call like this before league [play begins]. It’s good to play a 4A team that’s going to trap and press you in the half court because that’s something we have to get used to, a lot of teams are going to show us those kinds of looks.”
The Spartans lost senior point guard Seth Johnson when he rolled his left ankle in the third period.
Gooding said the first-team all-leaguer wouldn’t play in Saturday’s late contest against Rochester and may sit until league play begins after the new year.
“He rolled his ankle, it swelled up on him, so we he won’t play [Saturday] and we will see in a few days.”
Armas led the Spartans with 15 points.
It was a homecoming for Auburn Mountainview head coach Matt Sinnes, a Port Angeles graduate and the son of Sandy and Lee Sinnes. Lee Sinnes, longtime Roughriders head basketball coach and WIAA Hall of Fame inductee, is an assistant for his son this season.
Auburn Mountainview 52, Forks 33
Forks 7 7 8 11— 33
AM 16 16 9 11— 52
Forks (33) — Armas 15, Johnson 5, Baysinger 4, Morton 4, Prose 3, Flores 1, Reaume 1, Ness, Barr
Auburn Mountainview (52) — Daniels 10, Miguel 10, Tsyvan 8, Mirreh 8, Luok 6,Lakoity 5, Rotter 4, Desta 4.
Port Angeles 85, Rochester 19
PORT ANGELES — The Roughriders overwhelmed their Evergreen League opponent in the nightcap of the Port Angeles Holiday Basketball Tournament, running out to a 27-5 lead after one quarter and blanking the Warriors 26-0 in the second quarter on their way to an 85-19 victory.
Port Angeles triggered the 40-point running clock in the first half during what amounted to a 43-0 run from the 2-minute mark of the first quarter to the 5:16 mark of the third quarter, holding Rochester scoreless for around 13 minutes.
“I haven’t seen a lot of runs like that at any level,” Riders coach Kasey Ulin said.
”I thought our defensive intensity was good. We wanted to pressure the ball but also be disciplined and connected. Our rotations were sharp [defensively], we rebounded well. We outletted better,” Ulin said. “One thing we’ve been working on is getting the ball out quicker to the open guy as opposed to try and dribble [up the floor.] I thought we did a great job of that, of hitting the open guy. Once we got in the half court we attacked gaps really well, the ball movement was good. I don’t have stats right now, but we had a great night passing.”
Every player wearing a Port Angeles uniform scored in the contest.
Kyle Benedict and Payton Schmidt led the way with 12 points apiece, and four players had nine points (Anton Kathol, Garrett Edwards, Brady Nickerson and Chase Cobb) as the Riders shared the basketball and sank their shots.
“That’s a carryover from Olympic [an 83-52 win last Tuesday] At Olympic in the first half we had 12 assists on 14 field goals and we ended up with about 22 assists,” Ulin said. “That sharing of the ball is important for us because we have so many different guys who can score the ball, so we want to hit the open guy right away and we did a great job of that.”
“The bench guys came in right away and played really well. Gabe was awesome on defense, Chase made some shots. Chase hit a three, Stuart hit a 3, Brady hit two, all in the first half, so you have guys coming in off the bench and making an impact.
“Lucas [Jarnagin] came in and scored, gave us some buckets and rebounded well.”
Port Angeles is averaging 84 points per game with its full roster back from illness and injury.
“We’re finally healthy, Anton is back, Payton is healthy, Liam is healthy, I am hoping we can finally get rolling,” Ulin said.
The Riders (2-1, 4-2) will play Auburn Mountainview for the tournament title today at 4:30 p.m.
“Auburn Mountainview are athletic, they press, they zone, and they will offer a good challenge,” Ulin said. “I’m hoping we can continue to get better and improve and get on a roll.”
Port Angeles 85, Rochester 19
Rochester 5 0 9 5— 19
Port Angeles 27 26 22 10— 85
Rochester (19) — Sanchez 7, Goldrick 4, Riley 3, Moen 3, May 2.
Port Angeles (85) — Benedict 12, Schmidt 12, Cobb 9, Nickerson 9, Kathol 9, Edwards 9, Jarnagin 6, Johnson 6, Methner 5, Clark 4, Long 2, Irwin 2.
Other boys prep scores
Olympic 69, Sequim
BREMERTON — The Sequim boys got a great game from Nate Despain on the road against Olympic, but the Trojans pulled out a 69-64 win over the Wolves in a back-and-forth affair.
Despain shot 7 for 8 from the floor, including 3 for 3 beyond the 3-point line, for 19 points. He was also a perfect 2 for 2 on his free throws. He added six assists and three steals.
The Wolves fell behind 20-12 after the first quarter, but then rallied in a 19-8 second quarter to take a 31-28 lead into the half. The Trojans bounced back, outscoring the Wolves 19-13 in the third and 22-20 in the fourth for the final margin.
Kyler Rollness added 12 points for Sequim, hitting a pair of 3-pointers. Riley Cowan had nine points and eight rebounds. Michael Young, Erik Christiansen and Hayden Eaton all scored six points for the Wolves.
Despite the loss, the Wolves remain tied with Bremerton for second place in the Olympic League 2A Division. Sequim (3-2, 5-4) will next play in Port Townsend’s Crush in the Slush Tournament at 10:25 a.m. Friday against 3A Ferndale (6-3).
Olympic 69, Sequim 64
Sequim 12 19 13 20 — 69
Olympic 20 8 19 22 — 64
Sequim (64) — Despain 19, Rollness 12, Cowan 9, Young 6, Christiansen 6, Eaton 6, Whitney 4, Wiker 2.
Olympic (69) — Barron 23, Morgan 21, Brehmer 11, McInnis 9, Lindal 4, Talarico 1.
Quilcene 42, Crescent 38
CRESCENT — Quilcene used a 16-6 fourth quarter to pull away from Crescent 42-38.
The Rangers were led by Olin Reynolds’ 19 points, while Eric Emery scored 19 and Braydon Emery 10 for the Loggers.
Quilcene also got seven points and 16 rebounds from Robert Comstock III.
“We were getting open shots all gme, we just weren’t knocking them down. In the fourth quarter, we did. That was the difference,” said Quilcene coach Richie French. French also said the Rangers made some good offensive rebounds in the fourth quarter that helped lead to the win.
Quilcene (1-4, 2-6) does not play again until Jan. 7, though French said it’s possible that a Thursday game against Concordia Christian that was postponed due to a windstorm could be rescheduled during the Christmas break.
Crescent (0-0, 2-4) does not play again until Jan. 2. A Loggers’ game against Lake Quinault on Thursday was postponed due to the windstorm.
Quilcene 42, Crescent 38
Quilcene 14 7 5 16 — 42
Crescent 11 5 16 6 — 38
Quilcene (42) — Reynolds 19, Newman 8, Comstock 7, Z. Budnek 4, B. Budnek 2, Elkins 2.
Crescent (38) — E. Emery 19, B. Emery 10, Dalton 6, Owens 3.
