TACOMA — The Port Angeles boys basketball coaching staff spent all year trying to persuade its team it could play with anyone.
For most of Saturday night’s win-or-go-home Class 2A state regional against the top-ranked Clover Park Warriors, the Roughriders went out and proved it.
Just not long enough to earn a trip to the Elite Eight in Yakima.
A day after extending its season with a 57-49 win over Black Hills at Mount Tahoma High School, Port Angeles saw it come to an end in a 54-42 loss to Clover Park in the same gym.
Port Angeles survived three straight loser-out playoffs before finishing one quarter shy Saturday.
“To know that we had the No. 1 team in the state on the ropes with Yakima at stake, I’m proud,” said second-year Port Angeles coach Wes Armstrong.
“I thought we went out fighting. We fought and we played a pretty good game for 32 minutes.”
Two years removed from missing the playoffs entirely, the Riders (19-9 overall) entered the fourth quarter of the winner-to-Yakima contest with a two-point lead.
But with the turnovers mounting (five) and shots not dropping (1 of 10) in those final minutes, Port Angeles was outscored 21-7 by the 2A West Central District champion Warriors (24-3).
“That was a very beatable team,” Rider senior Ian Ward said. “We were ahead on them, we just blew the lead and it was our own mistakes that killed us.”
Saturday loss
Indeed, Port Angeles found itself overwhelmed by the Warriors’ physical ball-pressure zone defense Saturday.
Turning the ball over 21 times to Clover Park’s seven, the Riders saw many possessions go fruitless.
The Riders gave away the ball five times in the first quarter when the Warriors roared out to a 15-6 lead.
Clover Park went up by as many as 13 at 20-7 after future Washington State linebacker Tana Pritchard slammed home a back-door lob from freshman guard David Crisp with 5:05 left in the second quarter.
The duo finished with 16 points and three assists apiece — including two more alley-oop slams between the two — to lead the Warriors.
“It was a very physical game, a lot of hand checking, and we just didn’t have an answer for that,” Armstrong said.
“If you don’t take care of the ball and you can’t get a nice possession on the offensive end, you’re in trouble.”
With all the momentum going the other way, Port Angeles responded with a 12-2 run to close out the quarter.
Junior forward Hayden McCartney knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers to spark the rally, then found Keenen Walker for a layup on the final basket, as the Riders drew to within 25-24 by halftime.
“We knew that we were getting down and we knew we had to get something going,” said McCartney, who finished with a team-high 11 points on 3-of-5 shooting.
“They were really packing it in tight, so we couldn’t really get it into our posts. I just hit that first [3] and then I got another one, and that just sparked us a bit and picked up our energy.”
Despite turning the ball over nine times during the third quarter, Port Angeles grabbed the lead twice on 3s from McCartney and Ward.
The last one coming from Ward put the Riders on top 35-32 with 1:30 to play in the third.
The 6-foot-3 forward finished with nine pints and nine rebounds, while senior teammates Colin Wheeler and Tanner Phair each had seven points.
“That kind of sums up what our season was like,” Armstrong said.
“We had a lot of ups and downs, but whenever our back was against the wall, we really responded. It just shows our resiliency.
“I think it’s a real tribute to this team that we made it this far.”
Unfortunately for the Riders, they would go scoreless in the first three minutes of the fourth.
Crisp sank two of his game-high four 3-pointers during that time to help Clover Park surge ahead 41-35. Port Angeles got within four after a pair of Phair free throws, but got no closer the rest of the way.
The athleticism of the Warriors simply proved to be too much down the stretch. They sank 6 of 11 field goal attempts and 7 of 8 free throws in the fourth quarter to pull away.
“For the seniors, I know we’ve had three different coaches,” Ward said, “so being where we are right now, it hurts, but it’s definitely nice.”
Friday’s win
Black Hills guard Anye Turner displayed the same kind of athletic ability in Friday’s loser-out tilt.
The 6-foot-4 senior went for 18 points on 8-of-16 shooting with five blocks and six rebounds.
After he left the game in foul trouble at the end of the first quarter, the Riders went on an immediate 8-0 run to take a 15-13 lead.
The Riders continued their surge even after he came back into the game, eventually outscoring Black Hills 19-4 in the second quarter for a 26-17 halftime edge.
McCartney had 11 of his 16 points during that time, knocking down all four of his shots from the field, including two 3-pointers.
“He carried us in the first half,” Armstrong said. “That was a big game for a junior.”
Port Angeles went ahead by as many as 12 points in the third quarter only to see it all unravel in the first five minutes of the fourth.
The Riders had six turnovers during that time as Black Hills roared back with an 11-2 run to take a 44-43 lead with 2:40 to go.
Turner scored three baskets as part of that run but eventually killed all of the Hawks’ momentum after committing his fifth foul and immediately charging out of the gym. That resulted in a technical foul for unsportsmanlike conduct.
The Riders — already up 47-44 at the time after four hitting straight free throws — then knocked down 3 of 4 foul shots, essentially putting the game away at 50-44 with 1:11 to play.
“We got a couple good breaks towards the end there,” Armstrong said. “We were very fortunate.
“I think it was just a matter of us having a little more grit at the end, and focusing, and we hit our free throws down the stretch.”
Port Angeles sank 14 of 18 from the charity stripe during the fourth quarter and 21 of 29 on the game.
Ward dropped in 5 of 8 while scoring a team-high 18 points and grabbing five rebounds. Colin Wheeler was 7 of 8 from the free-throw line and finished with 10 points.
“I’m very proud of the way we handled that [Black Hills comeback],” Armstrong said.
“I had visions of the Fife game [a 57-52 loss after the Riders led late in the third quarter]. Our guys actually learned, we’re going to play this to win it instead of not trying to lose.”
Unfortunately for the Riders, they couldn’t channel that end-of-game magic one more time Saturday.
Instead, Port Angeles’ seven seniors — Ward, Wheeler, Phair, Rickie Porter, Kyler Morgan, Justin Antioquia and Casey Smith — saw their careers come to an end in Tacoma.
“I’m going to miss them all,” Armstrong said.
Port Angeles 57, Black Hills 49
Port Angeles 7 19 15 16 — 57
Black Hills 13 4 16 16 — 49
Port Angeles (57)
Phair 2, Morgan 2, Braithwaite 2, Walker 4, Antioquia 2, Ward 18, Wheeler 10, McCartney 16, Smith 1.
Black Hills (49)
Cunningham 5, Winkley 6, Turner 18, Bray 4, Davoe 4, Crawford 2, Pauly 10.
Clover Park 54, Port Angeles 42
Port Angeles 6 18 11 7 — 42
Clover Park 15 10 8 21 — 54
Port Angeles (42)
Phair 7, Braithwaite 3, Walker 4, Antioquia 1, Ward 9, Wheeler 7, McCartney 11.
Clover Park (54)
Crisp 16, Malcolm 2, Ahmaad 10, Pritchard 16, Crawford 8, Marcus 2.