KINGSTON — Beating North Kitsap. Check.
League championship. Check.
Beating North Kitsap … again. Check.
No. 1 seed out of the Olympic League 2A Division. Check.
The Port Angeles boys accomplished all of those goals this season, culminating in a 68-64 win Saturday in a tiebreaker with co-champion North Kitsap to determine the No. 1 seed out of the league.
That win is a big one, as the Roughriders get a first-round bye in the tournament, sitting back and waiting until Friday to host the winner of Fife and White River in the West Central District III Tournament.
Not only did the Riders beat the Vikings for the first time in several years this season, they beat them a second time in the tiebreaker. North Kitsap is the No. 3 2A ranked team in the state, so that is one mean feat. The Riders have jumped up to No. 7 in the RPI rankings.
Kyle Benedict led the Riders with 32 points.
“He hit everything,” said coach Kasey Ulin. He hit four 3s, six free throws, he hit pull ups,” he said.
What makes Benedict’s game even more remarkable is he picked up his fourth foul with seven minutes left in the third quarter.
“He played with a lot of poise and control. He hit big shot after big shot. He was phenomenal,” Ulin said.
It was a back-and-forth game that the Roughriders finally gained control of with an 11-0 run in the second half. Payton Schmidt hit a pair of 3-pointers during that run.
Ulin said North Kitsap showed why it’s ranked No. 3 in the state. “They hit 3 after 3, we were defending really well,” he said.
“It was intense, it was fun to be a part of,” he said.
Ulin said the Riders already had a lot of confidence even before beating the Vikings two games out of three.
“They’ve been through a lot of battles. These are high-character kids,” he said.
In addition to Benedict’s huge game, Liam Clark had 13 rebounds and five blocked shots, while Gabe Long had eight points and 10 rebounds.
Friday’s second-round WCD III 2A game will be at 7 p.m. at Port Angeles High School. Port Angeles (12-1, 17-4) awaits either Fife (10-3, 16-6, co-champion South Puget Sound League West) or White River (8-5, 12-7, the second-place team in the SPSL East Division). White River and Fife will play Wednesday.
NOTE: The Roughriders are making their big playoff run knowing that longtime former coach Port Angeles player and head coach Lee Sinnes has been battling a heart ailment.
Port Angeles 68, North Kitsap 64
PA 18 12 17 21 — 68
NK 16 15 11 22 — 64
Port Angeles (68) — Benedict 32, Long 8, Edwards 7, Schmidt 7, Clark 6, Johnson 4, Kathol 4.
North Kitsap (64) — McMillian 21, Chmielewski 18, Steinbeck 10, Humphrey 9, Olmstead 4.
