BOYS PREP BASKETBALL: Big night for Sequim and Port Angeles

SEQUIM — The Sequim boys basketball team overcame a hot-shooting Bremerton squad with a furious comeback in the final 3 minutes, 18 seconds of a Monday night makeup game, winning 66-61 to earn a share of the Olympic League championship.

Bremerton came in to Monday’s game 12-1 in league while Sequim was 11-2. Earlier this season, Bremerton beat Sequim, setting up the title game.

Neither team got much of a lead all game and there were several lead changes. The Wolves managed to stick close to the Knights despite Bremerton drilling eight 3-pointers after the first quarter. The Knights went cold from outside over the last four minutes of the game, however, opening the door for the Wolves.

In a tight back-and-forth game in which neither team could get much of a advantage, Bremerton finally managed to open up a lead of 59-53 with 3:18 left. The Wolves came roaring back down the stretch as they have done several times this season.

Jericho Julmist quickly scored seven straight points. He hit a shot on a drive to the bucket, followed by a beautiful, 17-foot Jordanesque midrange jumper from the elbow, then hit a 3-pointer as Sequim clawed its way back, down just 61-60 with 1:45 left in the game.

With about a minute left in the game, Sequim got the ball back and Julmist found himself surrounded by three defenders. He found an unguarded Mason Rapelje, who made a pretty baseline move for a layup to give Sequim a 62-61 lead with 58 seconds left.

Solomon Sheppard then made the play of the game, stealing the ball in the backcourt and driving to the basket for a thunderous dunk with 45 seconds left for a 64-61 lead. Rapelje finished off the scoring with a pair of free throws in the final seconds as Sequim ended the game on a 13-2 run as Sequim students stormed the court to celebrate the share of a league title.

Julmist led the team with 26 points, while Sheppard hit three 3-pointers and scored 17. Rapelje scored eight. Bremerton’s star player Jalen Davis hit five 3-pointers and scored 29, but Sequim was able to contain the rest of the Knights’ scorers.

Sequim fans will be treated to an additional game. Bremerton (12-2, 14-5, No. 5 RPI) and Sequim (12-2, 17-2, No. 4 RPI) will play a third time, this time to determine the Olympic League’s No. 1 playoff seed, in an extra game at 5 p.m. today at a neutral court at North Kitsap High School in Poulsbo. Win or lose, the Wolves will get a high seed and likely a first-round bye in the District 3 tournament.

Sequim 66, Bremerton 61

Brem. 15 17 18 11 ­— 61

Seq. 17 12 16 21 — 66

Sequim (66) ­— Julmist 26, Sheppard 17, Rapelje 8, Grider 5, Jamison 4, Schmadeke 1.

Port Angeles 78, Kingston 46

PORT ANGELES — The Port Angeles boys basketball team won a game that had to win, romping over Kingston 78-46 to punch their ticket into the postseason.

The Riders now sit back and await the results of two games Tuesday night to see where they end up in seeding. Despite an up-and-down season, it’s possible Port Angeles could finish all alone in fifth in the Olympic League and could end up hosting a district playoff game thanks to a relatively high Ratings Percentage Index.

In winning Monday night, Port Angeles clobbered a team that had beaten the Riders by 18 points earlier in the season. If Port Angeles had lost to the Buccaneers again, their postseason hopes would have been over.

“I’m extremely happy for our guys. They’ve been so resilient. They could’ve given up and quit after some unfortunate outcomes and a lot of adversity,” said coach Kasey Ulin. “I’m extremely proud of them.”

Those unfortunate outcomes Ulin was referring to are essentially three games this year lost at the final buzzer and another three or four games in which the Riders were right in the contest until late in the fourth quarter but fell in the final couple of minutes. It was the most hard-luck season seen by the Riders in recent memory.

In the Riders’ first meeting with Kingston, the Bucs hit 15 3-pointers. Monday night, they shot 5-for-24 from 3-point range while Port Angeles had one of its best shooting games of the year, nailing 13 3-pointers. The Riders also outrebounded Kingston 36-21.

Port Angeles had good balance with Blake Sohlberg leading the way with 15. Brody Pierce came off the bench to score 14, Brock Hope had 13 and Gus Halberg 11. In fact, the Riders had seven players score at least seven points.

Port Angeles (4-10, 9-12) now waits for the results of the Olympic-North Mason and North Kitsap-Bainbridge games that were played Tuesday night after press deadline. Olympic and North Kitsap are both 4-9 in league but are playing teams with better records — North Mason is 6-7 and Bainbridge 10-3.

Port Angeles is also 29th in RPI, better than most of the teams from the South Puget Sound League, which is also in the district tournament.

If the Riders can jump up to fifth with North Kitsap and Olympic losses, Ulin said it’s possible that Port Angeles could host a first-round game Saturday, with that opponent possibly being Fife.

Port Angeles 78, Kingston 46

PA 16 20 23 19 — 78

King. 8 13 14 11 — 46

Port Angels (78) — Sohlberg 15, Pierce 14, Hope 13, Halberg 11, Flores 9, Angevine 7, Hoch 7.

Klahowya 60, East Jefferson 59

SILVERDALE — The East Jefferson boys basketball team fell into a huge hole against Klahowya in the first quarter and battled back all game, but fell one basket short in a 60-59 loss.

The Eagles got up 26-9 in the first quarter. The Rivals outscored Klahowya 20-9 in the second quarter to get back in the game, but still entered the fourth down 52-42. East Jefferson dominated the fourth quarter but it wasn’t quite enough to pull off the win.

Julius Mercado led the team with 15 points, hitting three 3-pointers. Luke O’Hara and John Mercado each scored 11, with Mercado adding six rebounds and five assists. Ryan Olson, just moved up from junior varsity, also scored 11.

East Jefferson played at Seattle Christian (4-3, 12-8) on Tuesday and then travels to Vashon (1-5, 3-11) on Thursday for the Rivals’ final regular-season game of the season.

Klahowya 60, East Jefferson 59

EJ 9 20 13 17 — 59

Kla. 26 9 17 8 — 60

East Jefferson (59) — Julius Mercado 15, John Mercado 11, O’Hara 11, Olson 11, Page-Castillo 4, Martin 7.