SEQUIM — Nate Despain poured in 22 points and grabbed 13 rebounds as Sequim edged Forks 72-70 in a nonleague boys basketball contest.
“It was a back-and-forth offensive battle,” Spartans coach Rick Gooding said.
“We started the game down 11-0, and I thought, ‘Oh man, It’s going to be a long night.’ But Joey Reaume did well for us in the first quarter to pick us up a little bit.”
Forks used a 21-8 second quarter to go up 35-28 at halftime.
The Wolves trimmed the advantage to 52-47 after three quarters.
Joey Oliver had 21 points, three steals and two assists for Sequim.
“Oliver really shot the ball well in the second half,” Gooding said.
Oliver was 9 of 15 from the field for the Wolves.
Despain added five assists and three steals for Sequim.
Seth Johnson led Forks with 18 points while Braton Armas had 12 points and 11 rebounds.
Cort Prose knocked down 4 of 8 3-point shots for 12 points for the Spartans.
“Cort really did good in the fourth quarter. He hit some big-time shots which helped us out a ton,” Gooding said.
“We just couldn’t get a stop down the stretch. We wanted one, couldn’t get it.”
Forks was whistled for 23 fouls, while Sequim picked up seven foul calls. The Wolves knocked down 16 of 28 free throw attempts, while the Spartans hit 2 of 4 from the line in the game.
“We played in a tough environment in Sequim and it was good to see our boys fight back from being down,” Gooding said.
Sequim (2-0, 4-1) visited Bremerton (1-1, 2-3) late Tuesday in a return to Olympic League 2A Division play. The Wolves will play at Klahowya with a varsity tipoff set for 5:15 p.m.
Forks (2-2) travels to Neah Bay (1-2) tonight for a rematch of the Spartans’ 67-64 win last week.
Sequim 72, Forks 70
Forks 14 21 17 18— 70
Sequim 20 8 19 25— 72
Forks (70) — Johnson 18, Reaume 12, Armas 12, Prose 12, Baar 8, Morton 4, Eastman, Baysinger 2, Flores 2.
Sequim (72) — Despain 22, Oliver 21, Christiansen 10, Rollness 5, Young 5, Cowan 5, Whitney 4, Langston.
Wrestling
Klahowya 51, Port Townsend 24
PORT TOWNSEND — Port Townsend fell 51-24 at home to Klahowya in the Redhawks first dual meet wrestling match of the season Monday.
“I was proud of the way we wrestled,” Port Townsend coach Steve Grimm said. “We lost a few close matches that could have gone either way, but our kids wrestled with heart and showed their potential.”
Port Townsend gave up 24 points in forfeits to the Eagles.
“If you take those away it was a pretty even match,” Grimm said.
Senior Gabe Petrick was Grimm’s choice as Wrestler of the Night.
Normally a 160-pound wrestler, Petrick “bumped up to the 170-pound weight bracket and got us a pin there in round two,” Grimm said.
The best match of the night was a faceoff between Port Townsend’s Dylan Tracer and Klahowya’s Hunter Wallis, two top 10 state-ranked wrestlers in the 182-pound weight class.
“Both are returning state contenders,” Grimm said. “Dylan got the early lead with a giant takedown but fell behind off of a late reversal. It was a big-time match. Wallis ended up getting the win, but it probably won’t be the last time they go head to head.”
Logan Massie (126) and Odin Smith (152) picked up wins by pin for the Redhawks.
Over the weekend, Tracer and Kyle Caldwell (195) earned second-place finishes at the Return of the Seahawks Tournament at Chief Sealth High School in West Seattle.
Port Townsend’s lone female wrestler Brenna Franklin was third at 170 pounds in the Lady Jags Tournament at Emerald Ridge High School in Puyallup.
The Redhawks will wrestle at the Hammerhead Invitational Friday and Saturday at the Kitsap Pavillion.
Michael Dashiell/Olympic Peninsula News Group Sequim’s Joey Oliver eyes the rim before putting up a layup attempt while defended by Forks’ Braton Armas during the Wolves’ 72-70 win.
