By Pierre LaBossiere and Michael Carman
The Sequim boys basketball team got contributions up and down the lineups as the Wolves fired on all cylinders, crushing North Mason 69-42 in their District 3 2A tournament opener on Valentine’s Day.
With the victory, the No. 6-seed Wolves (10-10) move on to the double elimination bracket of the tournament, set to begin Tuesday, Feb. 17 at No. 3-seed Bainbridge (15-5).
The Wolves scored their 69 points with their leading scorer Solomon Sheppard with just 13. Four Sequim players scored in double figures with Andy Reynolds and Nolan Bacchus each scoring 12 and Mason Rapelje 11. Paddy Brooks added eight points with 10 Wolves getting on the board.
The Wolves won both prior match-ups with the Bulldogs by eight and 10 points, and this game was essentially over late in the second quarter. At one point, Sequim built up a 31-point lead.
The Wolves are also peaking at the right time of year. It was their seventh win in their past nine games.
“[The scoring balance] was huge,” said coach Craig Brooks. “Teams are keying on our top two players [Sheppard and Rapelje]. Having everyone scoring will pay off the next time we step out on the court.
Brooks said a lack of balance is something that has hurt the Wolves through the season and they saw multiple players shoot and step up with confidence.
Bacchus was huge in the first quarter with six points, and he added another six in the third quarter as Sequim built up a lead of 61-30 at one point before letting the subs in the game. He also had two big blocked shots as it was one of Bacchus’ best games of the year.
“I feel like a lot of the work I’ve put in this year is paying off,” Bacchus said.
After a close first quarter, the Wolves blew the game open with a 10-0 run to open up a lead of 24-12 early in the second quarter. After five straight points by North Mason, Sheppard and Rapelje hit 3-pointers as Sequim went on a 12-0 run to push the score to 41-20. North Mason never got within 19 points after that.
Win or lose Tuesday, the Wolves move on to play again on Feb. 19 and have a chance to host another playoff game if they are in the consolation bracket. Bacchus said the Wolves are focused on returning to the 2A state tournament this year.
“I think our chances are pretty good. I’m proud of our guys and the work they’ve put in, too,” he said.
Girls defeat Olympic
Sequim shook off a slow start, navigated early foul trouble for do-it-all point guard Gracie Chartraw and received a strong performance from Kaiya Robinson in eliminating Olympic League foe Olympic 54-29 in a Class 2A West Central District Tournament girls basketball contest Saturday.
With the win, the No. 5-seeded Wolves (13-6) advance to the double-elimination portion of the tournament and will face No. 4-seed Steilacoom at Steilacoom at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 18.
On Feb. 14, the Wolves were less than aggressive to open the contest, settling for long 3-point jump shots rather than attacking the rack on offense, while letting the Trojans pick up foul calls and get to the free throw line on the defensive end to lead 9-8 after the first quarter.
Sequim took control with essentially a quarter-long run in the second quarter, going on a 14-0 run to start the quarter, only allowing one field goal with 2:26 to go before halftime to make it 23-11 at the break.
Kaiya Robinson had eight of her 14 points in the first half, knocking down two 3-point shots for the Wolves.
“Kaiya had a really good game on the offensive side and defensively she had 14 points and 2 steals. She has been very consistent the last few games,” coach Joclin Julmist said.
Chartraw scored 12 of her game-high 21 points in the first half, despite picking up her second foul with under 4 minutes in the first half.
She had seven steals.
Jordyn Julmist had a solid stretch in the second quarter with Chartraw taking a seat for a couple of in-game minutes and finished with a double-double with 10 points, 11 rebounds and three steals.
“She also guarded Olympic’s best player the whole game in a box-and-one,” Joclin Julmist said.
Charlie Nolan added eight points off the bench.
“Charlie came off the bench ready to play, scoring eight points in limited time and grabbing four rebounds,” Julmist said. “She has a gift for putting the ball in the basket. “
Julmist said senior post Hailey Wagner was hobbled but played hard.
“Hailey gave us all she had. She’s been nursing an ankle injury all season,” Julmist said. “She had nine rebounds and played great defense.”
