Port Angeles was looking for a sweep against their rivals. Sequim was looking to put an end to a losing streak and make their Senior Night memorable.

In the end, by a slim margin, the winner was purple and gold.

Senior Nick Faunce hit a layup with less than three seconds on the clock to cap an 8-0 Sequim run and send Wolves fans home happy with a 36-34 victory in Sequim on Jan. 29.

“Senior night … all I could really ask for,” Faunce said, grinning.

In a back-and-forth affair that saw five ties and 10 lead changes, it looked as if the visiting Roughriders were going to earn a season sweep (they edged Sequim 37-31 on Jan. 8) after taking a 34-28 lead on Lambrose Rogers’ put-back with 4:24 remaining.

But that’s when Sequim’s defense stiffened, shutting out the Riders the rest of the way. Freshman Nate Despain grabbed an offensive rebound and found Jack Shea for a layup that closed the gap to four, and after a Jackson Oliver free throw trimmed the lead to three, Despain hit his first 3-pointer of the night, knotting the contest at 34 each.

With the Wolves closely guarding the basket and forcing outside shots, the Riders missed three 3-pointers in the waning seconds, setting up Faunce’s shot. The 6-foot 3-inch combo guard/forward drive the lane to the right and put up a shot while making contact with a Port Angeles defender.

“I kind of held my breath for a second,” Sequim coach Greg Glasser said.

“I thought I was going to get a charge on me,” Faunce said. “Coach had faith in me. I didn’t make a shot all night (before that).”Instead, Port Angeles was charged with a blocking foul. Faunce missed the free throw, but Sequim defenders broke up a full-court pass to end the game.

“Such a team effort. No one tried to take the game over themselves,” Glasser said.

Oliver, one of Sequim’s six seniors, led Sequim (2-9 in league play, 6-13 overall) with 14 points, seven rebounds and two steals.

“Senior Night versus PA? That’s just surreal,” Oliver said. “Our approach was to play together as a team. I think we accomplished that.”

Payton Glasser had seven points and senior Brendon Despain added five points.

Luke Angevine led Port Angeles with 12 points and eight rebounds. Rogers added nine points and 11 rebounds.

Other Sequim High seniors seeing action in their final home game Friday night included Shea, Arnold Black and Alec Holland.

“Our freshmen really stepped up. Our seniors really stepped up. It came from everywhere. What a great atmosphere. What a fun night — especially for Sequim folks.”

Despite the win, Sequim will miss the postseason for the first time since 2007-2008, Greg Glasser’s first season at the helm of the SHS’s boys squad; the Wolves lost a pigtail game to advance to districts in 2009-2010.

Bulldogs prevail in overtime

Four Wolves scored at least nine points and pushed their hosts into overtime, but the North Mason Bulldogs edged Sequim 71-65 on Jan. 26.The Bulldogs out-scored Sequim 11-5 in the extra frame.

Payton Glasser scored 21 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, Oliver had 14 points and 10 rebounds, and Faunce added nine points, 12 rebounds and four assists in the loss.

Riley Cowan added 10 points and eight rebounds for Sequim, who had 29 offensive rebounds but shot just 25-of-89 (28 percent) from the field.Trey Fisher led North Mason with 21 points, and Kevin Burrel-Briggs added 16 points and 11 rebounds.

Olympic League standings

(as of Feb. 1)

Team Lg. Over.

Olympic  9-2  13-6

North Kitsap 8-2 14-4

Bremerton  7-3  10-7

Kingston 5-5  9-9

Port Angeles 4-6  8-10

Sequim  2-9  6-13

North Mason 1-9 5-13