MOUNT VERNON — The Neah Bay boys and girls basketball went down to the wire before falling in their respective 1B Tri-District tournament championship games.
Both teams, along with the Port Angeles girls, move on to play at regionals this Saturday.
The Red Devils boys will face Wishkah Valley at Mount Tahoma High School at 10 a.m. The Neah Bay girls will play Wellpinit at the same location
at noon.
Port Angeles will meet Burlington-Edison at Mount Vernon High School at 2 p.m.
The winners at regionals will advance to the state tournament.
Keanu Hamilton made the game-deciding layup with 5.6 second to play to lift third-ranked Tulalip Heritage a 68-66 win over the No. 1 Neah Bay boys Saturday night at Mount Vernon Christian School.
With the score tied at 66, the Hawks came out of a timeout with 22.6 seconds on the clock and gave the ball to Bradley Fryberg.
After dribbling outside the 3-point line, Fryberg drove into the key and found a cutting Hamilton underneath the hoop. Hamilton corralled the pass and hit the lay-in to give the Hawks their first lead since losing it late in the third quarter.
A desperation 3-pointer by the Red Devils bounced harmlessly off the rim as the buzzer sounded.
Abraham Venske led the Red Devils with 19 points to go along with nine rebounds and six assists.
Josiah Greene chipped in with a nice all-around game of his own, scoring nine points, grabbing 10 rebounds, dishing five assists and recording four steals.
John Reamer contributed 10 points and eight boards, and Christopher Martinez finished with eight points.
After trailing by eight points at halftime, 36-28, Neah Bay outscored Tulalip 24-10 in the third quarter to take a six-point lead into the final frame.
But in the fourth, the Hawks chipped away at the Red Devils’ lead, finally overtaking them on Hamilton’s shot.
Hamilton finished with 16 points for the Hawks, who were led by Shawn Sanchez’s 19 points.
Tulalip Heritage 68, Neah Bay 66
Neah Bay 14 14 24 14— 66
Tulalip Heritage 21 15 10 22— 68
Individual scoring
Neah Bay (66)
Martinez 8, J. Greene 9, E. Greene 7, Venske 19, Moss 7, Reamer 10, McCaulley 6.
Tulalip Heritage (68)
B. Jones 8, Fryberg 10, Miranda 9, Miles 2, Sanchez 19, Hamilton 16, Enick 4.
Girls Basketball
Mount Vernon Christian 51, Neah Bay 46
MOUNT VERNON — Neah Bay committed 30 turnovers, but managed to stay in Saturday’s game at Mount Vernon Christian School by playing stout defense.
The fifth-ranked Red Devils held the Hurricanes to 10 of 52 shooting from the field, including 2 for 19 in the fourth quarter, but Neah Bay was unable to retake the lead after losing in the second quarter.
Senior Cierra Moss led Neah Bay with 22 points and she grabbed 11 rebounds.
Faye Chartraw added 12 points and pulled down a team-high 12 boards and Blaire Hill had 10 rebounds.
Mount Vernon Christian 51, Neah Bay 46
Neah Bay 13 10 12 11— 46
Mount Vernon 9 19 14 9— 51
Individual scoring
Neah Bay (46)
Haily Greene 3, Aguirre 4, J. Greene 2, Chartraw 12, Moss 22, Hill 3.
Mount Vernon (51)
Sakuma 11, Case 15, Whitner 2, Kuipers 5, Vanrooyeer 15, Noste 3.
Renton 45, Port Angeles 36
TACOMA — The Roughriders fell to the Indians in the third-place game of the 2A West Central District tournament Saturday at Foss High School.
In Burlington-Edison, Port Angeles will be facing a team it went on the road and beat 43-40 in late December.
Port Angeles led Saturday’s game 7-5 after a low-scoring first quarter, but Renton responded with a 21-6 second period to take a 26-13 lead into halftime.
“For the second straight night, we were plagued by hesitation on offense,” Port Angeles coach Michael Poindexter said.
The Riders battled in the second half, but were unable to take a big enough chunk out of the Indians’ big lead.
“We finally were willing to attack pressure in the second half and were much more successful as a result,” Poindexter said.
“For the second half, I felt we looked like a team that wanted to compete and believed in ourselves. That had been by and large lost for the previous game and a half.
“The stronger second half gives us at least some positive note on which to approach our preparations this week for a Burlington-Edison team that is playing very well in the latter part of the season.”
Bailee Jones led the Riders with eight points, while Krista Johnson added seven and Kylee Jeffers scored six.
Taylor Farris finished with a game-high 19 points for Renton and Natajia McMillen contributed 13.
Renton 45, Port Angeles 36
Port Angeles 7 6 13 10— 36
Renton 5 21 10 9— 45
Individual scoring
Port Angeles (36)
Jones 8, Johnson 7, Jeffers 6, Wheeler 5, Hinrichs 4, Boe 2, Baxley 2, Lee 2.
Renton (45)
Farris 14, McMillen 13, Proctor 9, Williams 3, Alem 2, Curry 2, Stowers 2.
Eatonville 51, Port Townsend 40
MOUNTLAKE TERRACE — The Redskins’ determined postseason run came to an end in the sixth-place game of the 1A Tri-District tournament at Mountlake Terrace High School on Saturday.
Port Townsend coach Randy Maag said his team was doomed by 7 for 27 shooting at the free-throw line, compared to Eatonville’s 19 of 27.
After trailing by six after three quarters, the Redskins tried to create more of the late-game magic that has become their signature in the postseason.
“We were within one point with four minutes left and just couldn’t find the basket from the field or free-throw line,” Maag said.
It was the last game of Maag’s coaching career, and the last for a number of seniors, including Jewel Johnson, Rilke Rutenbeck, Jayde Richardson and Trish Reeves.
Johnson led the Redskins with 16 points and Rutenbeck added nine.
Port Townsend had a fun run through the postseason, edging Charles Wright 33-30 last week in the Tri-District play-in game thanks to three points in the final minute by Rutenbeck.
A few days later, Rutenbeck banked a 3-pointer at the buzzer to beat Seattle Academy 31-30.
Despite not making regionals, Maag said the postseason provided a special ending for he and his players.
“An absolutely great season. I’m very proud to have coached my last year with this group,” he said.
“My eight seniors on the postseason roster have some great memories.”
Eatonville 51, Port Townsend 40
Port Townsend 10 17 5 8— 40
Eatonville 17 13 8 13— 51
Individual scoring
Port Townsend (40)
Johnson 16, Rutenbeck 9, Lee 2, Reeves 4, Richardson 5, Deen 4.
Eatonville (51)
Voss 14, Schoeph 11, Godwin 2, Vandenboom 3, Boettcher 5, Brankline 16.
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The Daily Herald of Everett, a sister newspaper of the PDN, contributed to this story.
