NEAH BAY — Seth Johnson scored 25 points, including 18 in the third quarter, as Forks edged Neah Bay 57-51 in a nonleague boys basketball game.
“Always nice going to Neah Bay and playing in a competitive environment,” Spartans coach Rick Gooding said of Wednesday’s game.
“We got some defensive stops when we needed them, got some rebounds when we needed them and ran our press breaker when we needed.”
“I’m glad we got the win. Cort Prose hit a couple 3s, nice to see him shooting the ball.
“Seth hit a couple of shots, 25 points was huge for us.
“Brandon Baar hit a big 3.
“Iziah Morton came on and got us two huge buckets in the first half when we weren’t getting it done inside. All that stuff adds up to a team win.”
Johnson had four points at halftime as Neah Bay led 20-18. He hit two 3-point baskets, two 2-point buckets and was 8 of 9 from the free-throw line in the third to account for his big quarter.
Forks needed all of those points as the Red Devils put 21 on the scoreboard in the third, led by 10 from Cameron Moore.
Moore led Neah Bay with 20 points on 8 for 15 shooting, including 3 of 7 from beyond the 3-point line. He also had six rebounds.
Sean Bitegeko added a double-double with 17 points, 12 rebounds and five steals for the Red Devils (2-3). Keith Johnson Jr. also hit double figures in scoring with 11, and had five steals and four rebounds for Neah Bay.
“They are a tough, tough team and they are going to do good things this year,” Gooding said. “I think TJ Greene is doing an awesome job with them and the way they play.”
Forks (3-2) visited Tumwater late Thursday and will host Chimacum on Tuesday.
Forks 57, Neah Bay 51
Forks 7 11 24 15— 57
Neah Bay 4 16 21 10— 51
Forks (57) — Johnson 25, Prose 13, Baar 5, Reaume 4, Armas 4, Morton 4, Flores 2, Baysinger, Eastman.
Neah Bay (51) — Moore 20, Bitegeko 17, Johnson Jr. 11, Brunk 2, Martinez 1, Soeneke, Horejsi.
Klahowya 55, Port Townsend 49
SILVERDALE — The Redhawks stumbled in the fourth quarter on the road, falling in their Olympic League 1A opener to the Eagles.
“We ended up turning it over late and they hit 16 of 22 free throws, so they really won it at the free throw line,” Port Townsend coach Tom Webster said.
“We worked really hard to guard [John] Hartford, [Kavi] Baahabar did a great job until he fouled out then Kuba Krol fouled out, so we didn’t have a point guard late.
“But we just didn’t execute, and give Klahowya credit, they’ve been working toward that moment, beating us on their home floor.”
Jaden Watkins had 19 points for the Redhawks, including four 3s, and Cole Crawford added 15.
Port Townsend (0-1, 3-3) hosts rival Chimacum tonight.
Klahowya 55, Port Townsend 49
Port Townsend14 11 12 12— 49
Klahowya 12 14 7 22— 55
Port Townsend (49) — Watkins 19, Crawford 15, Montoya 8, Winegar 5, Baabahar 2.
Klahowya (55) — Smith 17, Hartford 14, Craft 12, Betsing 6, Becker 6.
Crescent 52, Lake Quinault 34
JOYCE — The Loggers rolled out to a 28-point lead late in the first half and evened their record with a win over the Elks.
“We started out and had a really fantastic first quarter, we got a lot of pressure on them defensively and dictated the tempo of the game,” Crescent coach Chris Ferrier said.
“We were moving the ball around and getting great team shots. We shot over 50 percent in the first half and played really unselfishly. Brayden Emery and Mason Owens also took big charges in the first half that shifted momentum — Brayden took two and really gave up his body to help the team.”
Ferrier said his team allowed Lake Quinault to finish the third period on a 12-0 run.
“The third quarter has been a rough spot for us all season and I have to figure out how to fix it,” Ferrier said. “We had a bit of a skittish look to us. I’m not sure we know how to play with a lead yet, but we managed to persevere.”
Emery (14 points), Brendan Bergstrom (12) and Owens (11) all scored in double figures for the Loggers.
“We had some seriously balanced scoring, three guys in double figures is fantastic for us,” Ferrier said. “Brayden was terrific inside and out, Brendan Bergstrom was very good offensively, but Mason Owens was the key to this game. He played all 32 [minutes] at the point and got us where we needed to be and was a tremendous vocal leader all game long.
“It was a solid team effort. There are some things we can definitely tighten up but I’m happy with the guys.
Crescent (2-2) hosts Summit Olympus tonight at 6 p.m.
Crescent 52, Lake Quinault 34
Lake Q. 1 9 8 8— 34
Crescent 15 21 18 6— 52
Crescent (52) — B. Emery 14, Bergstrom 12, Owens 11, Dalton 6, Mattix 5, Leonard 4, O’Neel, Buchanan.
Girls Basketball Neah Bay 54, Forks 36
NEAH BAY — Different day, similar scoreline. A week after the Red Devils’ 1-3-1 zone defense pressed the issue in a 54-29 win over the Spartans, Forks struggled against Neah Bay’s man-to-man defense.
“It was a different issue this time around,” Spartans coach David Hurn said. “Last time they were able to get us with a press and create chaos. This time we handled the press well, got some easy baskets and forced them out of it. But we had a hard time finding space against their man-to-man and we couldn’t get going offensively.”
Courtney Swan led the Red Devils with 15 points and four steals.
Cei’J Gagnon added 14 points and six rebounds and Oceanna Aguirre scored eight points and swiped four steals.
Chloe Leverington had 11 points and Rian Peters seven to pace Forks.
“Defensively, we were pretty solid,” Hurn said. “Their offense came down to points off turnovers and transition.
“When we get into our half court sets on defense we do pretty well, when we make poor decisions and we get out of our game and get beat in transition we have trouble.
“We have to work to create those turnovers so we are getting out and scoring on the break.”
Neah Bay (4-1) is off until a matchup with Class 4A Auburn in the Crush in the Slush Tournament at Port Townsend on Friday, Dec. 28.
Forks (2-3) hosts Clallam Bay tonight.
Neah Bay 54, Forks 36
Forks 7 11 24 15— 57
Neah Bay 4 16 21 10— 51
Forks (36) — Leverington 11, Peters 7, Rowley 6, Kilmer 4, Olson 3, Horton 3, Johnson 2, Bouchard, Sandoval.
Neah Bay (51) — C. Swan 15, Gagnon 14, Aguirre 8, Moss 6, Greene 5, P. Swan 4, Pilatti 2, Woodruff, Horejsi, Cummins, Lovik.
Chimacum 60, Concrete 13
CHIMACUM — The Cowboys balanced being good sports with trying to build and improve in a win against an overmatched Class 2B opponent.
“We were really trying to hold things down, but also get better and get ready for the next game,” Chimacum coach Trevor Huntingford said.
“The girls know they can’t duck down and play to the level of the opponent. We want to run our offense and we can’t do that because they throw the ball to us in transition.”
Mia McNair scored 27 points, including five 3-point baskets to lead the Cowboys in scoring. Grace Yaley added 10 points.
“Grace and Mia shot the ball really well early on,” Huntingford said.
“Jada Trafton had a huge number of steals, the whole team had a huge number of steals.
Jada was really big early on penetrating their zone and giving us good skips. We shared the ball really well.
And Huntingford said Clara Noble “did a real good job of offensive rebounding.”
Chimacum (1-0, 2-3) visits Port Townsend (0-1, 1-1) tonight in the first of three rivalry games with the Redhawks.
Chimacum 60, Concrete 13
Concrete 4 6 2 1— 13
Chimacum 22 16 15 7— 60
Concrete (13) — Clark 10, Swanson 2, Rensink 1.
Chimacum (60) — McNair 27, Yaley 10, Clark 5, Horner 4, Trafton 4, Young 4, Nordberg 2, Huntingford 2, Jones 2, Fisher, Noble.
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Compiled from team reports. Email scores to sports@peninsuladailynews.com or phone 360-417-3525.
