SEQUIM — Sequim overcame Port Angeles’ game-long tenacity with a fourth-quarter flurry of pressure defense, jump shots and a sweet drive to the rim to earn a come-from-behind 58-49 win and sweep the Rainshadow Rumble boys basketball rivalry.
Friday night’s contest opened with the Roughriders running and gunning — Gus Halberg hitting a pair of early 3s among his 13 first-quarter points and Keatyn Hoch draining another and then driving baseline for a sweet layup in the second quarter among the first half highlights as the Riders got up 19-9 after the first quarter.
Halberg had 16 points but was held scoreless after halftime. Senior Jamison Gray scored eight of his team-high 15 in the second quarter as the Wolves cut the PA lead to 29-25 at halftime and the Riders maintained a 43-39 lead entering the fourth.
Jericho Julmist drained an elbow jumper to tie the game at 43-all with 6:20 to play and after a scoreless couple of minutes, Solomon Sheppard stole a long inbounds pass at halfcourt and fed senior Ethan Melnick for the go-ahead bucket with 4:08 left.
But the Riders weren’t ready to relent. Hoch followed Sequim’s basket with an answer 3 of his own on the left wing to make the score 46-45 with 3:49 to play that reawakened the Port Angeles fans in the crowd. It was the Riders’ first points of the fourth quarter and they wouldn’t score again until a late 3 with the game decided as Sequim finished the game on a 13-3 run.
“Fourth quarter, too many empty trips offensively,” said Port Angeles head coach Kasey Ulin. “We weren’t able to get enough quality shots and I think we ran out of gas a little.”
Melnick finished the game with 14 and Julmist 12.
Forks 69, North Beach 19
FORKS — Even though the Forks boys basketball team has already locked up a Pacific 2B League title, the Spartans have plenty to remain motivated about, which North Beach discovered Friday night.
The Spartans won 69-19 and locked up sole possession of the league championship by doing so.
“They didn’t want to share [the title]. The boys wanted it all for themselves,” said coach Keith Weekes.
The Spartans (7-0, 17-2) still have something left to give them motivation — a perfect record in the Pacific 2B League, which they can wrap up with a win today against Chief Leschi.
Titus Rowley led the way with 13 points and eight rebounds, while Brody Lausche had 10 points and 14 rebounds. Landen Olson had seven points and 11 rebounds, while Juan Terrones had six points and eight rebounds.
Crescent 77, Chief Kitsap 28
JOYCE — The Crescent boys basketball team on senior night romped over Chief Kitsap 77-28 on Friday.
Senior Henry Bourm had 16 points, six rebounds and three assists, while Josh Noel pulled down 10 rebounds and had five steals to go with eight points. Levi Bourm had six steals to go with 18 points.
Crescent (10-9, 4-2 in the North Olympic League) finished second in the league for the fourth year in a row. The Loggers play a nonleague game against the Port Angeles C team next Friday and then await their playoff seeding in the Tri-District Tournament.
Neah Bay 78, Clallam Bay 47
NEAH BAY — The Clallam Bay boys basketball team got 23 points from William Hull, but Neah Bay countered with balance as nine players scored at least four points in a 78-47 win over the Bruins.
The Red Devils were led by Makyah Chambers with 18. Tyler Swan had 12 and Mathias Greene 11. The Bruins got seven points each from Dylan Simmons and Coletyn Hull.
One highlight of the game is Chambers was honored for scoring his 1,000th point for the Red Devils.
Bellevue Christian 83, East Jefferson 32
CHIMACUM — Bellevue Christian, one of the top teams in the Nisqually League, blew open a Friday game against East Jefferson with a 26-5 second quarter en route to an 83-32 win over the Rivals.
East Jefferson was led by Dillon Page-Castillo with 10 points. Julius Mercado scored eight points.
The Rivals also lost 66-57 to South Whidbey on Saturday. East Jefferson (1-3, 5-11) next plays at Klahowya (1-5, 3-16) today.
Girls Basketball
Port Angeles 46, Sequim 15
SEQUIM — The Port Angeles and Sequim girls basketball teams struggled in a defensive battle for the first 15 minutes Friday night, until the Roughriders blew the game open with a 17-0 run over four minutes en route to a 46-15 victory.
The win puts the Riders in a two-way tie for first place in the Olympic League with North Kitsap, with a very good chance to finish all alone in second by the end of the regular season as Port Angeles has a favorable schedule the rest of the way.
Port Angeles forced 47 Sequim turnovers. The Wolves were only able to get off 20 shots as a result.
After ending the first half on a 5-0 run, the Riders went on a 12-0 run in just three minutes to open the second half. Port Angeles ultimately ended up going on a 24-0 run over about 10 minutes, stretching the lead to 36-6 at one point.
Port Angeles’ Lindsay Smith led all scorers with 19 points. Lexie Smith had seven steals and seven rebounds, while Teanna Clark had a great game with 15 points and six steals.
Sequim was led by Libby Turella with seven points and three blocked shots. Taylor Heyting had five points, five rebounds and three steals.
Port Angeles (9-3, 12-6) has a home game at 7 p.m. today against Bremerton (0-12, 0-14). Sequim (2-9, 3-12) hosts North Kitsap (9-3, 13-6) at 7 p.m. Tuesday.
Neah Bay 57, Clallam Bay 7
NEAH BAY — The Neah Bay girls basketball team showed its usual balance with seven players scoring at least five points in a 57-7.
Angel Halttunen led the Red Devils with 15 points, while Danica Halttunen had eight and Cerise Moss seven.
For the Bruins, Brilei Hull scored four and Hanna Robinson scored three.
Bellevue Christian 59, East Jefferson 25
CHIMACUM — The East Jefferson girls got off to a slow start against league-leading Bellevue Christian and could never catch up in a 59-25 loss.
Bellevue Christian came in to Friday’s game ranked No. 1 in the state in Ratings Percentage Index. Teri Wiley led the Rivals with eight points while Penina Vailolo had five.
The Rivals have a good shot to finish with a winning record both in the Nisqually League and overall with games left against Life Christian, Seattle Christian and Vashon, which have a combined record of 14-29.
East Jefferson (2-3, 9-8) next plays at 7 p.m. Friday in Port Townsend against Life Christian (2-4, 5-9).