PORT ANGELES — Port Angeles’ patience was rewarded with every defensive stop and each offensive rebound followed by scores, as the Roughriders put together a painstaking comeback from a 14-point third-quarter deficit and sent North Kitsap packing with a 61-54 Olympic League victory.
“They just refused to quit and that’s really been the theme the last couple of weeks,” coach Kasey Ulin said.
“Defensively, we were phenomenal in the second half. We kept coming back with more and more efforts from all our guys. They were so resilient and they kept believing in each other.”
Port Angeles opened the game with a 12-0 run before the Vikings got going, eventually taking a 36-24 halftime lead and going up by as much as 40-26 in the third.
The Riders held North Kitsap scoreless over 3 minutes, 21 seconds of the third quarter and managed to shave the deficit down to 48-40 entering the fourth.
Port Angeles received contributions from multiple players down the stretch.
Brock Hope controlled the paint in the back end of the Riders’ 2-2-1 press and didn’t allow any second-chance shot opportunities.
“Brock gets better every week,” Ulin said. “He had 15 points, 15 rebounds, five blocks and four assists. That’s a big-time game.”
“We knew we had to win the glass, that was the game 44-23 advantage on the boards and we had 22 offensive rebounds to their four, so we were getting unbelievable effort after every play.”
Keatyn Hoch had two baskets following offensive rebounds, the second putting Port Angeles up for good at 50-49 with a running one-hander in the lane with 3:45 to play.
Hoch also locked down North Kitsap’s Jordan Williams, holding him to four points.
“He really made Jordan work for tough shots, he’s a talented player and Keatyn did a good job of limiting his touches and making him have to expend a lot of energy to even get the ball,” Ulin said.
Standout Gus Halberg led the way with 20 points, 12 rebounds, four steals and four assists.
Halberg connected on two big 3s in the fourth and finished the game out at the free-throw line in the final minutes.
Port Angeles (3-8, 8-10) has dealt with injuries, illness and heartbreak this season with five league losses by a combined 13 points. The win was huge for keeping the Riders’ playoff hopes alive as they are just one game behind both North Kitsap and Olympic.
“Last night was one of the happiest, most rewarding evenings I’ve had as a coach,” Ulin said. “To see them stick with the process with what they’ve gone through is really fulfilling.”
Port Angeles 61, North Kitsap 54
NK 20 16 12 6 — 54
PA 16 8 16 21 — 61
Port Angeles (61) — Halberg 22, Hope 16, Sohlberg 9, Hoch 8, Miller 7, Angevine 2.
Girls basketball Port Angeles 33, North Kitsap 28
POULSBO — Port Angeles weathered a scoring drought that nearly stretched to a full quarter with free-throw shooting and clutch defense to win a 33-28 grinder of an Olympic League girls basketball matchup with North Kitsap on Tuesday.
Teanna Clark came through with four free throws in the final two minutes, the first pair tying the game up at 28-all, and the second giving Port Angeles a 31-28 lead with 21 seconds left.
Lexie Smith stole an inbounds pass and ran out for a score to seal the winning margin.
The victory puts the Roughriders (8-3, 11-6) into a three-way tie for the league’s No. 2 playoff spot with the Vikings (8-3, 12-6) and North Mason (8-3, 11-5) with three games left in the regular season.
Smith shined for Port Angeles on both ends of the floor.
“Lexie had a stellar all-around game: 17 points on 63-percent field goal shooting, eight rebounds, seven blocked shots and two steals,” coach Michael Poindexter said.
Smith’s presence inside also altered several other shot attempts.
“She was primarily responsible for guarding the Vikings’ best player, Avery Kline, who ended up with just two points on the night. Lexie, Teanna Clark, Morgan Politika and Becca Manson had outstanding defensive games for us. Teanna had seven steals to go along with her four assists.”
Port Angeles visits rival Sequim (2-8, 3-11) at 5:45 p.m. Friday.
Port Angeles 33, North Kitsap 28
PA 11 7 7 8 — 33
NK 8 11 2 7 — 28
Port Angeles (33) — Le. Smith 17, Li. Smith 7, Clark 4, Stevens 3, K. Moses 2, Politika, Alward, Doherty, Manson, Moses.
Dave Logan/for Peninsula Daily News Port Angeles’ Brock Hope eyes the basket while being guarded by a North Kitsap defender Tuesday night in Port Angeles. Hope finished with 15 points and 15 rebounds as the Roughriders overcame a 14-point deficit to beat the Vikings.
