PORT ANGELES — The Port Angeles boys basketball team isn’t done with its gym quite yet.
The Roughriders earned themselves another game in front of the home faithful with a 57-49 Senior Night victory over Olympic League rival Sequim on Tuesday.
Port Angeles sank 12 of 16 free throws in the final three minutes to help secure the Olympic’s No. 2 seed into the Class 2A sub-district tournament this week.
Their reward: A home game against Franklin Pierce (9-5 in SPSL, 10-9 overall) Thursday at 7 p.m. in the first round of a four-team bracket for the 5-8 seeds in the 2A Bi-District.
“I think that’s a huge accomplishment for them,” second-year Port Angeles coach Wes Armstrong said. “It’s very special for these seniors to have one last game in this gym.
“We’re excited. We’re very excited.”
The win also gave Port Angeles (12-4 in league, 14-6 overall) its first sweep of their archrivals since the winter of 2007-08.
Meanwhile, Sequim saw its bid for the second seed dashed, instead falling to No. 4 after Olympic beat Klahowya 66-60 on the same night.
The Wolves (10-6, 14-7) must now host Evergreen (5-9 in Seamount, 7-11) in a loser-out pigtail playoff Thursday night at 7 p.m. in 2A sub-district play.
“We’ve got to rebound quickly,” said Wolves coach Greg Glasser, whose team lost a tie-breaker to Olympic by virtue of the Trojans’ 1-1 record against the Riders. “We can’t dwell on this one too long.
“We’re going to come out focused. These kids, they don’t quit. They don’t care if it’s a loser-out game or a winner-in game.
“It doesn’t matter. They play hard every night out.”
The sort of standing-room crowd the 1966 Riders boys — on hand for a 45-year reunion as AA runners-up — used to enjoy in their heyday packed the Rider gym Tuesday night.
Much like so many times before, the two rivals battled back and forth in a game neither team ever led by more than nine points.
Rider forward Ian Ward had a double-double with 15 points, 10 rebounds and three assists, while fellow senior Tanner Phair added 12 points and six boards.
For Phair, that included back-to-back 3-pointers in the final minute of the third quarter that give the Riders a 34-28 edge.
“My 3s weren’t doing so hot at the beginning of the season,” Phair said, “but I guess I shoot better when I’m tired.”
Sequim got within 36-35 with five minutes to go after Evan Hill muscled his way into the paint for a left-handed lay-in.
But Port Angeles answered immediately after senior Justin Antioquia (10 points) banked in a 3-pointer from the top of the key.
The Wolves got within three points twice more in the final frame yet could never quite get over the hump.
Ward hit a 16-foot elbow jumper after Sequim put it at 39-36, and Colin Wheeler scored a 3-point play after Jason Brocklesby’s one-handed stuff whittled the Rider lead to 41-38.
Once the Riders were ahead 45-38 with 2:14 to play, the Wolves began fouling. Ultimately, the strategy backfired thanks to the Riders’ clutch shooting at the charity stripe.
“In practice we’ve been doing a lot of free throw drills,” said Ward, who hit 7 of 8 on the game and 5 of 6 in the fourth. “It really helps in the long run, obviously.
“It was awesome [stepping to the free-throw line in the fourth in front of the big crowd].
“Being in the middle of all the comments and stuff, it’s the kind of game you dream about.”
Sequim junior Corbin Webb scored a game-high 16 points in defeat, while sophomore Gabe Carter had a monster game with 11 points and 13 rebounds.
Rider killer Nick Camporini had just five points after playing only five minutes in the second half due to foul trouble.
The Wolves hit 17 of 44 field goal attempts on the game, but was 12 for 25 from the field in the second half.
Still, the Wolves couldn’t overtake Port Angeles, which won the rebounding edge 31-25, in the final two quarters.
“I’m pretty happy with the way our kids battled and handled how physical PA is,” Glasser said.
“They are a big, strong team inside. If we can build upon this, then I like our chances on Thursday night.”
Camporini’s 3-pointer at the end of the first quarter gave the Wolves a 9-6 lead.
And it wasn’t until the Riders’ final possession of the first half, which resulted in a Ward jumper, that they took their first lead of the night at 14-13.
At that point, the Riders had hit just 6 of 19 shots and turned the ball over seven times against the Wolves’ 2-3 zone.
In the second half, however, Port Angeles was able to take care of the ball (4 turnovers), move it in and out of the zone and bury enough shots (10 of 24) to keep Sequim at bay.
“We knew offensively it was just a matter of executing,” Armstrong said.
“We went into halftime, made a couple of adjustments and were able to get the ball inside and that opened it up our outside shooting.
“And to be quote honest with you, we had some guys who stepped up and made some big shots.”
Port Angeles 57, Sequim 49
Sequim 9 4 15 21 — 49
Port Angeles 6 8 20 23 — 57
Individual Scoring
Sequim (49)
Hill 4, Meier 1, Carter 11, Webb 16, Brocklesby 11, Guan 1, Camporini 5.
Port Angeles (57)
Phair 12, Morgan 3, Walker 3, Antioquia 10, Ward 15, Wheeler 5, McCartney 5, Smith 4.