By Aaron VanTuyl
For Peninsula Daily News
SPOKANE — The Red Devils’ playoff run came to a close, but they weren’t about to let the season end without putting on a show.
Neah Bay kept up with No. 2-ranked Odessa’s blistering pace throughout, but couldn’t slow down record-setting guard Ryan Moffet enough to extend their stay in Spokane for another two days.
Moffet, who came into Wednesday’s opening-round matchup in the 1B Hardwood Classic averaging more than 32 points a game, went off for 48 points to lead Odessa to a 81-73 win.
“He’s quick. We came in with a pretty good game plan,” Neah Bay senior guard Keith Johnson, Jr., said. “We thought we were going to be able to hold him under 20, and then he goes out and almost scores 50 on us.”
The outburst broke the single-game tournament record of 44, set back in 2012 by Almira-Coulee-Hartline’s Derek Isaak, and came as the product of a fast-paced contest involving two hot-handed teams. The Red Devils had three players with at least 18 points and shot 67 percent (30 of 45) from the field, while Odessa went 29 of 48 (60 percent) from the floor.
For Neah Bay, the loss — which featured the most points by the losing team in tournament history — was the capstone on a season of improvement. The Red Devils (16-7) started the season 4-5, but went undefeated in North Olympic 1B League play and hit their stride with a full roster late in the year.
“We had a rocky start, losing a bunch of games, and our chemistry wasn’t clicking,” Johnson, Jr., said. “Then towards the end of the year we all went together and went on a run. The goal was state at the beginning of the year, and we made it, so you’ve got to be happy about it.”
Johnson Jr. scored 21 points on 9 of 14 shooting with three assists and two steals. Fellow senior Cameron Moore added 22 points and went 4 of 8 from long range; Sean Bitegeko tallied 18 points with a game-high nine rebounds, and Jay Brunk added six points and eight boards.
“We were really happy with those four senior starters we’ve got,” Greene said. “They’ve come a long way. They were good to begin with, but they wanted that game. They really wanted that game.”
It took a record night to keep the hot-shooting Red Devils from getting their wish.
“It seemed like just everything was clicking, but Ryan — what’s his last name, Moffet?” Johnson, Jr., said. “He’s a heck of a player. He got the best of us, but you’ve got to respect him.”
Moffet poured in 18 points in the second quarter, scoring 12 straight Tiger points during one stretch and going 9 of 13 to tally 25 points in the first half.
He added a solo eight-point run in the third frame, pushing Odessa’s lead to 56-42 — the largest advantage they’d see all night.
Neah Bay kept fighting. Johnson hit a pair of threes in a personal 8-0 run, and Bitegeko followed it up with a bucket that trimmed the advantage to four points to end the third.
Moore then hit back-to-back threes midway through the fourth to give the Red Devils a lead at 68-65. Neah Bay’s 3-2 defense during that span helped kept Moffet scoreless for a full 10 minutes of game time.
“He’s a heck of a player,” Greene said. “He definitely responded and made us pay down the stretch.”
Moffet got back into action, canning a pair of foul shots and then a three to give Odessa the lead for good at 70-68.
Moffet scored on an inbounds play under the hoop with 42 seconds left to give himself 44 points, tying the record, and hit four fouls shots in the final 20 seconds to break it.
Marcus King added 17 points for Odessa (23-2).
Greene was happy with his team’s finish, and the example his seniors set for the team’s underclassmen.
“It was definitely a result of all the hard work they’ve put in for their career, and also for the year,” Greene said. “They set a goal to not just make it here to state but to play on Saturday, and it’s definitely a tough bracket. You get a No. 2 team that loses early and you’ve got to go up against them, but that’s alright.
“They didn’t back down from it, and they went out and played our kind of basketball.”
The Tigers (23-2) move on to face No. 1 Sunnyside Christian on Wednesday in the first round of the double-elimination portion of the tournament.
Notes: The Red Devils’ 73 points were the most by a losing team in 1B tournament history, breaking the 72-point record set by Tulalip Heritage last year in an 88-72 loss to Cedar Park Christian.
Odessa 81, Neah Bay 73
NB 21 17 16 19 — 73
Odessa 20 23 19 21 — 81
Neah Bay (73) — Soeneke 2, Bitegeko 2, Brunk 6, Johnson Jr. 21, Moore 22, Halttunen 4.
Odessa (81) — Moffet 48, Weber 5, Nelson 1, DeWulf 6, King 17, Johnston 2, Hunt 2.
Keith Johnson Jr. of Neah Bay dribbles against Odessa’s Jett Nelson (5) in the state 1B basketball tournament Wednesday night. (Chris Johnson/for Peninsula Daily News)
