FORKS — Forks stayed in the playoff hunt with a 61-28 win Evergreen League win over Elma, riding an 18-0 run to close out the first half and blow the game open.
Though the score doesn’t show it, the Spartans actually had to come from behind early. Elma hit three 3-pointers early to hold a 14-13 lead in early in the second quarter. The Spartans then went on their 18-0 run to take a 31-14 lead into the break. The game was never close again.
“That was a huge momentum tuner,”coach Rick Gooding said of the big run.
“We got a lot of effort from a lot of guys,” Gooding said. Ten different Spartans scored.
“When you can get 10 guys to score and play defense, we have a really good team.”
Marky Adams led the Spartans with 19 points, while Parker Browning scored 13 and Cole Baysinger nine.
Forks (11-5, 3-2) plays at Neah Bay at 7 p.m. Tuesday then has a crucial Evergreen 1A game against first-place Hoquiam at 5:30 p.m. Friday.
Forks 61, Elma 28
Elma 11 3 9 5 — 28
Forks 13 18 15 15 — 61
Elma (28) — Tep 8, Thompson 5, Vollan 5, A. Brown 8, Acuff 2.
Forks (61) — Adams 19, Browning 13, Baysinger 9, Jacoby 5, Ramsey 5, Johnson 2, Schumack 2, Maxfield 2, Tejano 2, Archibald 2.
Port Angeles 39, Bremerton 35
BREMERTON — The Roughriders showed resiliency in picking up a crucial Olympic League 2A Division road win over the Knights.
In a game with massive postseason implications, Port Angeles trailed 20-12 at halftime after enduring a 1-point second quarter offensive freeze.
“We really struggled in that second quarter offensively,” Riders coach Kasey Ulin said.
“We didn’t move the ball well, we were frustrated. We really needed to regroup at halftime. We were lucky to even have halftime because the game would not have gone well if we didn’t get that break.”
But Ulin said his players regrouped and rode a determined defensive effort to the finish.
“We switched into zone, then man-to-man to press,” Ulin said. “We never allowed them to get comfortable and in the second half we cut our turnovers and really played our style of basketball.”
“I can’t speak enough to the character of our kids. We were resilient, we got refocused and most importantly they stuck together.”
Noah McGoff hit two big 3-point shots in the fourth quarter and Luke Angevine knocked down vital free throws in the final moments to help Port Angeles stand tall. Angevine finished with 15 points.
“It was really nice in a playoff-style game to see our senior captain step up and put the game away with clutch free throws,” Ulin said.
“We have not had that ability to make those important free throws down the stretch.”
The win gives Port Angeles (5-4, 9-7) what amounts to a two-game lead over Bremerton (4-5, 6-10) for the Olympic League 2A Division’s fourth and final seed to the district playoffs.
“I think the kids knew what was at stake with this game,” Ulin said.
“We beat them [Bremerton] both times, so we have the tiebreaker on them and are basically two games up on them to get to districts.”
Ulin said the visitor’s locker room was a happy place after the game.
“One of the better post-game celebrations I’ve been a part of,” he said.
There were lots of hugs and lots of smiles. If we keep sticking together and believing in each other and what we can do we will reach our goal of playing our best basketball at the end of the season.”
The Riders host Sequim for the second installment of the Rainshadow Rumble rivalry on Friday at 7 p.m.
Port Angeles 39, Bremerton 35
Port Angeles 11 1 13 14— 39
Bremerton 6 14 8 7— 35
Port Angeles (39) — Peet 3, McGoff 11, Angevine 15, Benedict 1, Edwards 3, Clark 6.
Bremerton (35) — Grant 4, McMichael 4, Herring 4, Pedesclaux 9, Baios 6, Miochy 2, Madison 6.
Port Townsend 62, Coupeville 59
COUPEVILLE — Jacob Boucher’s 3-pointer with 4 seconds to play lifted a shorthanded Redhawks squad over the Wolves.
“At the end we were up 59-56 and they kick it out to Gabe Wynn and he buries his seventh 3 of the game,” Port Townsend coach Tom Webster said.
Wynn finished with 26 points for Coupeville.
“We have 29 seconds left, so wanted to get the last shot. We had Detrius [Kelsall] at the top of the key and he drove and he kicks it to Boucher and he steps up and buries it from the right wing.”
Webster said the 3-point shot was key for both sides all night long.
“Everybody was dialing in from long distance all night,” he said.
“They hit 10, we had nine, so it kinda proved how basketball is played these days. “If it ain’t 19’9” [the 3-point line distance] it ain’t worth my time.”
Kelsall hit three treys in the fourth quarter and scored 16, with nine rebounds, six assists and four steals.
Boucher finished with six points and 10 assists.
Berkely Hill had three 3s on his way to 22 points for Port Townsend.
Freshman Noa Montoya scored 10 points and grabbed six rebounds.
“He’s coming along,” Webster said of the youngster.
Port Townsend (7-0, 12-3) travels to Bremerton on Tuesday.
Port Townsend 62, Coupeville 59
Port Townsend 13 13 19 17— 62
Coupeville 17 11 14 15— 59
Port Townsend (62) — Spencer 2, Boucher 6, Kelsall 16, Hill 22, Montoya 10, Parcher 6.
Coupeville (59) — Wynn 26, Smith 10, Lippo 2, Shank 8, Spark 11, Toomey-Stout 2.
Neah Bay 81, Crescent 22
JOYCE — Neah Bay pushed their winning streak to 10 with and had six players score eight or more points in a 81-22 victory over Crescent.
Anthony Bitegeko led the Red Devils with 13 points in Friday’s game. Sean Bitegeko scored 12, Rwehabura Munyagi 12, Philip Greene 10, Cole Svec eight and Cameron Moore eight. Peter Johnson led the Loggers with eight points.
“Hats off to the Red Devils, they’re really starting to play quite well. They take us out of everything we try to do offensively with great defense. Their speed is hard for us to match up with. But my guys played with guts and heart all the way to the finish,” said Crescent coach Chris Ferrier.
Neah Bay, (11-3, 5-0) played at Chief Kitsap Saturday. The Red Devils next host Taholah at 7 p.m. Monday and then Forks at 7 p.m. Tuesday.
Crescent, (5-8, 1-3) next hosts Chief Kitsap at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday.
Neah Bay 81, Crescent 22
Neah Bay 29 17 23 12 — 81
Crescent 5 4 7 6 — 22
Neah Bay (81) — A. Bitegeko 13, Munyagi 12, S. Bitegeko, Greene 10, Svec 8, Moore 8, Parkin 6, Johnson 4, Dulik 3, Doherty 3, Tyler 2.
Crescent (22) — Johnson 8, McNeece 5, Peppard 4, Spencer 3, Storm 2.
North Kitsap 61, Sequim 44
POULSBO — Other than one rough third quarter, the Sequim boys went toe-to-toe with first-place North Kitsap, losing 61-44.
Sequim was outscored by just three points in every quarter by 14-2 North Kitsap (undefeated in Olympic League 2A Division), except for the third, in which the Vikings outscored the Wolves 17-9.
Three different Wolves players scored 10 points each — Kyler Rollness, Nate Despain and Devin Greenlow. The team’s leading scorer, Payton Glasser, was held to just seven points.
Sequim (2-13, 0-9) next plays at Kingston at 7 p.m. Tuesday.
North Kitsap 61,Sequim 44
N. Kitsap 12 16 17 16 — 61
Sequim 9 13 9 13 — 44
Sequim (44) — Rollness 10, Despain 10, Greelow 10, Glasser 7, Williams 4, Parrish 3.
North Kitsap (61) — Olmstead 16, Kai Warren 12, Barringer-Mahitka 9, Kainen Warren 9, Houghton 7, Dipino 3, McMillan 3, Hecker 2.
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Compiled from team reports. Email scores to sports@peninsuladailynews.com or phone 360-417-3525.
