SPOKANE — Neah Bay’s quest for its first-ever boys basketball state championship unraveled in the final 5:30 of the Class 1B state title game, as a wave of turnovers and baskets by Lummi were ultimately the difference in a 54-33 loss.
The Red Devils trailed 39-33 after an Abraham Venske basket with 5:30 to play. Neah Bay wouldn’t score again as the Blackhawks ended the contest on a 15-0 run.
“Once it got below five minutes we made too many turnovers, and they were able to come down and just get buckets, a lot of easy buckets,” Red Devils coach Stan Claplanhoo said.
“It opened up pretty quickly. We were down six and that ain’t bad, that’s just a couple of possessions. But once it got to double digits, you are running out of time and running out of possessions because they like to run the clock down to 5 or 6 seconds and then attack.”
“And that comes because they have a lot of seniors on their team. They are a good ball club, undefeated, and I think we played them better than anybody this year.”
It was Lummi’s third victory in three contests with the Red Devils as the Blackhawks (27-0) capped an undefeated season with the school’s first ever basketball state title.
“We knew Neah Bay would keep fighting,” Lummi coach Jerome Toby said.
“They are junkyard dogs that keep working, working, working.”
Toby felt that neutralizing Neah Bay post John Reamer was the key to the fourth-quarter breakaway.
“John Reamer was a handful,” Toby said.
“He has so much heart, so much hustle and is just a determined young man. We knew we had to keep him off the boards because he gets second chances and keeps possessions alive.”
Indeed, Reamer was an active presence on the offensive glass, hauling down seven offensive rebounds, he had nine total, and tying with Venske with a team-high 10 points.
“For our boys to step up to that challenge in the fourth quarter and keep him [contained], I thought that was the difference in the fourth quarter,” Toby said.
With the loss, Neah Bay finished second for the third time in five seasons.
Lummi opened the contest on a 10-0 run, before the Red Devils rattled off a 9-2 run of their own that was keyed by six straight points inside from Venske to close the first quarter.
“We started in man instead of our 1-3-1 [zone] because I was worried about their two big guys [Trazil and Kavarez Lane],” Claplanhoo said.
“And if they get the ball to the weakside post, they are real smart players, they know if they can get the ball over and work that corner.”
Neah Bay was able to tie the game at 15-all on a Jericho McGimpsey trey with three minutes left in the first half but allowed Lummi to close the half on a 7-2 run to lead 22-17 at the break.
The Red Devils couldn’t hit shots with any kind of consistency, knocking down just 6 of 28 from the field in the first half and 12 of 50 for the game. That included a dismal 2 of 25 from beyond the arc, a disappointing performance for a team that thrives on the 3.
“A couple of made 3s, a couple of layups here and there, and momentum, every team needs a little momentum,” Claplanhoo said.
“You need something to fire you up and really get the crowd into it, and we never really had that moment. We couldn’t hit those open 3s and we just didn’t give them anything to cheer about.”
Neah Bay was always playing catch-up in the contest, and trailed by as much as 29-21 with 3:10 left in the third quarter before a Jongi Claplanhoo 3 and two Reamer second-chance baskets inside pulled the Red Devils within 31-28 with 1:13 left in the period.
Austin Brockie opened the fourth quarter with the first of his three 3s to put Lummi up 36-28. Reamer and Rwehabura Munyagi Jr. were able to hit free throws and Venske hit that final layup before the scoring well ran dry.
“I told the kids we left it on the court and we didn’t lose from lack of effort,” Claplanhoo said.
“We fought and we just came up a little short. It’s been a hell of a season.”
The season was Claplanhoo’s first as head coach after serving as an assistant to Gerrad Brooks the past few years.
Knowing the kids as well as he did, he believed they had a shot at putting themselves in position to win a state title.
“I thought we had a good, talented team and I was confident in our team’s ability to get back to Spokane,” Claplanhoo said.
“I’ve watched them [as an assistant coach] for the past three years. And we’ve been here every year since I started coaching with Abe and Ryan [Moss], Jongi and John, so we knew that we should end up here.
“I know they are upset right now and they still believe they are the best team, and that’s how the kids are supposed to feel. I felt we could beat them, but we needed a good night and we just didn’t have it tonight.”
As painful as a state title loss might be, Claplanhoo was contemplative on his team’s success this season.
“We made it to the last game of the season, and that’s what I think every team’s goal is, to be in this spot and have this championship experience,” Claplanhoo said.
“I know they won’t forget it. I don’t forget when we made it to state here in 1987. I loved it, I remember it like yesterday.”
And the seniors, you know, it’s hard on Abe, John and Jongi. It’ll take them a bit to deal with this and we will miss them like crazy. They are such a dedicated, disciplined and talented group.”
There’s always another season on the horizon and Claplanhoo will have pieces to work with next season.
“We’ll be bringing back a good group of players next year in Ryan, Rweha, Kenrick [Doherty Jr.], Jericho and Reggie [Buttram],” Claplanhoo said.
“Rweha and Reggie should grow a few inches, so we should make some noise.”
Lummi 54, Neah Bay 33
Lummi 12 10 11 5—54
Neah Bay 9 8 11 21—33
Individual Scoring
Lummi (54)
Williams 14, Brockie 13, T. Lane 12, K. Lane 8, Jones 4, Roberts 2, Ballew 1.
Neah Bay (33)
Reamer 10, Venske 10, Moss 4, McGimpsey 3, Claplanhoo 3, Doherty Jr. 2, Munyagi 1.
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Sports reporter Michael Carman can be contacted at 360-452-2345, ext. 5250 or at mcarman@peninsuladailynews.com.
