YAKIMA — The steely facial expression worn by Port Angeles senior Wyatt Dunning during the team’s shootaround Wednesday left the Roughriders coaching staff with one takeaway: he was destined for something big later that night against Franklin Pierce.
“Once again, I’m glad Wyatt’s on our team,” coach Kasey Ulin said. “He was so focused at shootaround today. We were saying Wyatt is going to be great tonight. You could see the intensity on his face.”
Dunning poured in 28 points despite foul trouble, many of them coming in firefighter fashion, dousing the flames of Cardinals’ runs in a 63-53 Class 2A State Boys Basketball Tournament contest at the Yakima Valley SunDome.
“It’s our first time being here in forever,” Dunning said. “I just wanted to come over here and get it done really, and show we belong.”
He and senior Michael Soule, who hit three 3-point baskets on his way to a career-high 12 points, were enormous for the Riders on the biggest stage available.
“Michael has been coming on lately and I’m so proud of him,” Ulin said. “That was the best game of his high school career in the biggest game of his high school career.”
The rematch of a 68-51 first-round district win over Franklin Pierce was close through much of the first half with the Riders trailing 8-3 early and tied 21-all just before halftime as Cardinals’ guards Mason Thomas and John John Barbee were active offensively.
“It can be tough to get off to a good rhythm here and we were a little emotional to start,” Ulin said. “We needed to let that emotion burn off and play basketball.
“To play well here you have to have conviction in who you are. Because it’s challenging to be who you are on this stage. The court’s bigger, people and it takes a
A 7-0 Port Angeles run, including a 3-pointer by Soule and buckets by Quanah Wheeler and Xander Maestas, became a 31-21 lead when Dunning drained a triple to open the third quarter.
Soule for 3. Riders up 28-21 at half. 7-0 run to end the half by PA for a 28-21 halftime lead. Dunning 13 points, Soule 7. Mason Thomas 9 for FP. pic.twitter.com/jIxKx5QBjx
— Michael Carman (@MikeCarmanPDN) March 3, 2022
The Riders pushed that lead to 49-33 on a Wheeler trey with 1:16 to go in the third, but Franklin Pierce battled back, going on a 10-0 run to pull within 49-43 early in the fourth.
But Dunning answered to stretch the lead back to nine with a shot from beyond the arc. And Wheeler answered with a basket when Franklin Pierce pulled within 52-47 with 4:44 to play.
Buckets by Dunning and a slick putback of his own miss by Maestas effectively sealed the deal in the final couple of minutes.
“They are an aggressive, athletic team and for how aggressive they are and how much they pressed us, I think we played at our own pace and did really well,” Dunning said. “I was comfortable most of the game.”
Dunning, Wheeler and Maestas all played with four fouls down the stretch.
“That was a testament to who they are,” Ulin said of his team. “A gritty, resilient team.”
The Riders’ reward? A rubber match with No. 1 North Kitsap in the quarterfinals Thursday. That game was after press deadline. For a report on the game, go to www.peninsuladailynews.com.
Port Angeles split two previous tilts with North, the defending state champions from 2020, falling 76-74 on the road and winning big 80-63 at home to seal a share of the Olympic League crown.
Port Angeles 63, Franklin Pierce 53
FP 10 11 19 13 — 53
PA 12 16 21 14 — 63
Franklin Pierce (53) — Thomas 20, JJ. Barbee 16, Herrera 11, J. Weekly 2, N. Weekly 2, Ja. Barbee 2.
Port Angeles (63) — Dunning 28, Soule 12, Wheeler 8, Vaara 6, Maestas 4, Gundersen 3, Shamp 2, Townsend, Long, Burkhardt, Surina.
Port Angeles’ John Vaara grabs a rebound against Franklin Pierce in the Roughriders’ 63-53 win Wednesday night in Yakima. (Photo courtesy of Jason Wheeler)
