PORT ANGELES — For something nine years in the making, you knew it had to take something special.
And in the final moments of Sequim’s 40-38 victory over Port Angeles on Tuesday night, Wolves forward John Textor delivered exactly that.
With the score knotted at 38 with less than 10 seconds to go, the rangy senior came off his man to pick off Port Angeles guard Antonio Stevenson’s wayward dribble and take the ball the length of the court for the game-winning basket.
“Originally if we got a steal, the plan was to call a timeout, but I just kept going,” said Textor. “It was one-on-one against a smaller defender, so I liked my chances.”
As well he should.
Textor raced down the court and elevated over his man with ease, dropping a finger roll into the hoop right before time expired.
The shot set off a Wolves’ celebration at Port Angeles’ midcourt not seen since the 2000-01 season.
That was the last time Sequim (8-5 in league, 9-8 overall) beat a Port Angeles boys basketball team twice in one season.
“I just started smacking the floor [and] screaming [after making the shot],” said Textor, whose Wolves topped Port Angeles 45-31 at home in December.
“It was awesome. I’ve never felt anything like that.”
It’s hard to believe Port Angeles (6-6, 8-8) has either.
After all, the Roughriders had a chance to win the game after getting the ball with the score tied and just 32 seconds remaining.
But a turnover — only Port Angeles’ 11th in the game — kept them from even getting a shot at it.
Thus, breakout performances from both Colin Wheeler (14 points on 7-of-9 shooting) and Justin Williams (13 points and 3-for-3 from 3-point range) went to waste.
“We were going to run a pick and roll and Antonio was going to have a couple of reads,” Port Angeles coach Wes Armstrong said. “He could either take the guy off the drive, hit Justin [Williams] or hit Colin [Wheeler] in the corner.
“We just tried to get a little too fancy with the ball. We kind of booted it around a little bit, and it just happened to bounce right into Textor’s hands in full stride, he went the length of the floor . . . and there we go, that’s the ball game.”
The lay-up was part of a seven-point, three-rebound night for Textor.
Teammate Clancy Catelli had 12 points and three rebounds, Jeremie Oliver had nine points and two assists and Frank Catelli four points and nine rebounds.
Nick Camporini dropped in six points, including a pair of clutch 3-pointers in the fourth quarter.
The last one gave Sequim a 38-32 lead with two minutes to go.
“I was just in the game completely and not thinking about anything else but putting the ball in the basket,” said Camporini, who punctuated each bomb with a fist pump.
“Our coach kept saying we haven’t beat them [in Port Angeles] in like 15 years. We just wanted to do it. We wanted to do it for the seniors. It was very exciting.”
Port Angeles crept back into the game after Williams drained two 3s of his own in a span of a minute tying the game at 38 with 1:28 to go.
Sequim was unable to get a basket despite getting two chances — the Wolves tied up Port Angeles’ Ian Ward for a jump ball after rebounding Sequim’s first miss — at it.
Of course, Textor and company made good on the last opportunity.
“It feels great,” Textor said of the sweep. “I’d never beaten them in this gym. It’s just a dream right now. It’s an awesome feeling.”
Sequim out-rebounded Port Angeles 24-15 on the night, part of a gutsy performance that saw it rally from a 12-point first half deficit.
“It helps that we’ve been in that situation, oh, the last five games or so,” Sequim coach Greg Glasser said of his team’s comeback.
“They know they can do it, they believe in themselves, we believe in them and I think that’s the key to that.”
Port Angeles went on a 15-0 run during a nine-minute span between the first and second quarters to take a 19-7 lead with 4:25 left in the half.
Yet Sequim held Port Angeles without a point the rest of the quarter, then came out and got baskets from Oliver and Catelli to start the third.
By then, Port Angeles’ double-digit lead had dwindled to 19-15.
After Port Angeles’ only basket of the quarter — a Williams 3-pointer — Sequim closed out the frame on a 10-0 run for a 25-22 edge.
The Riders tied the game twice in the fourth, thanks in large part to Wheeler’s eight points in the frame, but could never take the lead.
“Everybody is going to remember that last play, but nobody is going to remember our ineptitude [between the second and third quarters],” Armstrong said, referring to 12 minutes of basketball in which Port Angeles scored just three points.
“We went into one of our famous lulls . . . but we kept battling that fourth quarter. We got down 35-30, we could have folded, but the guys battled.
“We had an opportunity to win the game in the last seconds. Unfortunately, we made a mistake, they got a good bounce and Textor went the length of the floor.”
“It’s a tough way to lose. You don’t think it would ever happen, and it did. But you know our guys are going to turn the page.
“They are going to get over it. And that will make us better down the road, hopefully.”
Sequim 40, Port Angeles 38
Sequim 7 4 14 15 — 40
Port Angeles 10 9 3 16 — 38
Individual Scoring
Sequim (40)
Webb 2, Camporini 6, Textor 7, C. Catelli 12, Oliver 9, F. Catelli 4.
Port Angeles (38)
Williams 13, Stevenson 3, Morgan 2, Hofer 2, Ward 2, Wheeler 14, Rogers 2.
Girls Basketball Port Angeles 84, Sequim 20
PORT ANGELES — At this point, the Riders are just playing against themselves.
Facing a Sequim team it had already beaten by 48, Port Angeles spent Tuesday night checking off goals on its pregame list.
Limit Sequim to less than 10 points a quarter (check). Turn the ball over less than 14 times (check).
Get three girls in double figures (check). And, most importantly, move within two wins of clinching a share of a third straight Olympic League crown (check).
“We played well,” Port Angeles coach Mike Knowles said. “One of the things we talked about before the game was it’s about us doing our job out there tonight, working on the things we need to work on.
“We focus not on who we are playing, but what we need to do. We just try to perfect what we do.”
Tuesday night came pretty close.
Port Angeles got points from seven different players, led by Jessica Madison with 26 points and four assists.
Taylyn Jeffers added 12 points and 10 rebounds, while Alison Knowles had 10 points, five assists and four steals to boost the Riders (12-0, 14-2) to their ninth straight win.
Lea Hopson scored 12 points for the Wolves (0-13, 0-17), who are now three losses away from finishing the season 0-20 for the second straight year.
Port Angeles 84, Sequim 20
Sequim 5 7 5 3 — 20
Port Angeles 21 26 16 21 — 84
Individual Scoring
Sequim (20)
Hopson 12, Wiker 4, Ignani 3, Soha 1.
Port Angeles (84)
Madison 26, K. Jones 4, Knowles 10, Stevenson 3, S. Jones 8, Frazier 6, Jeffers 12..