TACOMA — In three games this year, the Port Angeles and Sequim boys basketball teams have battled deep into the fourth quarter, with the final outcome of the game very much in doubt.

And in three straight games, Sequim has taken over down the stretch to hold off the Roughriders.

The third time around, a trip to the state tournament was at stake and it will be Sequim moving on to the next round, thanks to a 56-46 win over the Riders on Saturday evening at Foss High School.

Port Angeles was down just one possession at 47-44 with 2:30 left to play. The Wolves finished the game on a 9-2 run over the final 150 seconds to pull the game out.

“They were definitely coming at us with everything they had,” said Sequim coach Craig Brooks. “It’s never easy to beat a team three times, especially a good team like Port Angeles. They came into the game playing really well.”

”Down one possession with three minutes to play, that’s where we wanted to be,” said Port Angeles coach Kasey Ulin.

It will be Sequim’s first trip to state since 2012, when the Wolves finished sixth. The Wolves are a No. 9 seed and will play No. 16 Lindbergh at 6 p.m. Friday at the University of Puget Sound campus in Tacoma.

The Wolves (18-4) got a huge game from Jericho Julmist, who scored 30. The Riders didn’t seem to have an answer for Julmist until the fourth quarter, when they held him to just two points as they mounted a furious comeback attempt. Solomon Sheppard responded in that fourth quarter with seven of his 14 points to help fend off Port Angeles. Two of those points came on a spectacular shot in the final two minutes in which he was nearly lying on his back after drawing a foul.

Gus Halberg led the Riders with 16 points, while Blake Sohlberg had eight, Brock Hope seven and Keatyn Hoch six. Mason Rapelje scored eight points for the Wolves.

Port Angeles’ season is done with an 11-14 record, but the Riders had two postseason wins, 60-47 over Fife and 59-57 over Clover Park. The Wolves won two out of three at district, also beating Foss 76-50.

Port Angeles got to that title game by beating Clover Park 59-57 on Friday on a buzzer-beating shot by Hunter Flores.

Cruising in the fourth quarter with a 16-point lead early in the fourth quarter at 51-35, the Roughriders nearly suffered another heartbreaking loss. Clover Park roared back on the Roughriders on a 22-6 run to make it interesting at the end, tying the game at 57-57 with under a minute left.

The Riders scored as Hoch missed on a potential game-winning shot, but Flores was right there in perfect position to get the rebound and the putback bucket to make it 59-57 with 0:00 on the clock.

Ulin called it “poetic justice” for a team that had lost so many heartbreakers this season.

“What a great moment for Hunter,” Ulin said. “I’m so excited for our team. They had so many chances this year they could have folded, but they’re back at practice the next day with a great attitude and awesome work ethic. I don’t know if I’ve ever been prouder of a team.”

Halberg finished with 26 points.

Girls Basketball

Port Angeles 44, Bainbridge 36

TACOMA — The Port Angeles girls basketball was beaten in the regular season by double digits twice by Olympic League-champion Bainbridge.

But the third time around, in the District 3 tournament championship game Saturday, the Roughriders got a bit of revenge, smothering Bainbridge on defense in a 44-36 win.

It was the 14th game this year the Riders allowed 36 points or fewer. After a 1-3 start to the season, the Riders improved to 17-6 on the season, including three straight postseason wins in the District 3 tourney.

“It was a great district tournament week for us with two comeback wins over North Mason and Eatonville, followed by the district championship victory over a team that had defeated us twice during the regular season,” said coach Michael Poindexter.

Port Angeles goes into state as a No. 10 seed and will play No. 15 Cedarcrest at 10 a.m. Saturday at the University of Puget Sound campus in Tacoma. Ironically, even though Port Angeles beat Bainbridge at the district tournament, the Spartans go to state as a No. 8 seed.

The one thing all three wins had in common is that the Riders were huge in the fourth quarter. In a 46-41 win over North Mason, Port Angeles finished the game on a 12-2 run. In a 48-44 win over Eatonville in the semifinals, the Riders outscored Eatonville 27-11 in the fourth.

Against Bainbridge, Port Angeles was clinging to a 31-30 lead early in the fourth quarter and held off the Spartans by outscoring them 13-6 down the stretch.

Teanna Clark had another huge postseason game, drilling three 3-pointers in the second half and scoring 15 points. Lindsay Smith finished with 18 points, going head-to-head with Olympic League MVP Bella Ramirez, who scored 19. Smith added 14 rebounds and four blocked shots. Lexie Smith had six points and eight rebounds.

Neah Bay 48, Lummi 37

AUBURN — The Neah Bay girls basketball team won another Tri-District tournament championship as the team now heads to the state tournament looking to win three titles in a row.

The Red Devils, 20-1 overall, enter the 1B state playoffs as the No. 1 team in the state in Ratings Percentage Index after beating Lummi in the district championship game 48-37.

Neah Bay hit nine 3-pointers. Qwaapeys Greene led the team with 20 points, hitting three 3-pointers. Cerise Moss made four 3-pointers and scored 12, while Angel Halttunen hit a pair of treys.

Neah Bay is seeded No. 1 at the state tournament and will face No. 8 Pateros at 2 p.m. Saturday at Mount Tahoma High School.

Annie Wright 58, East Jefferson 28

TACOMA — Though the East Jefferson girls basketball team came one win short of a trip to state, it was a successful year for the Rivals with two postseason victories and an overall winning record.

It was a tough hill for the Rivals to make state as they would have to have beaten either Bellevue Christian, ranked No. 1 in the state, or Annie Wright, ranked No. 4, to qualify. It ended up being Annie Wright, which won 58-28 on Saturday.

Kay Botkin led the Rivals with 12 points, nine rebounds and three steals. Penina Vailolo had eight points and three blocks, while Teri Wiley had six rebounds and four steals.

After beginning the year 1-6, the Rivals roared back over the last two-thirds of the season, finishing with a 13-12 record, which included wins over Cascade Christian and Life Christian in the District 3 tournament.

Boys Basketball

Lummi 61, Neah Bay 46

AUBURN —The Neah Bay boys basketball team had a rough fourth quarter in a Tri-District tournament championship 61-46 loss to Lummi.

The Red Devils actually led in the fourth quarter 43-41 but were outscored 20-3 over the final eight minutes by the Blackhawks, who are ranked No. 3 in the state in RPI and have a 22-3 record.

Tyler Swan led Neah Bay with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Makyah Chambers had 11 and Seactis Woodruff 11.

The Red Devils (18-4) move on to the state 1B tournament. They are a No. 5 seed and will play No. 4 DeSales at 6 p.m. Friday at Richland High School.

Napavine 68, Forks 33

CHEHALIS — Forks came up one win short of qualifying for the state 2B tournament, falling to Napavine 68-33. Napavine went on to beat Rainier to finish third in the District 4 2B tournament.

Napavine, 21-3 overall, is ranked No. 6 in the state in RPI.

Forks finished with a record of 19-4 and a Pacific 2B League championship with a 7-0 record in league.