Boys basketball: Vikings wear down Wolves for league lead

Olympic League standings (as of Dec. 23)

Team Lg. Over.

North Kitsap 5-0 7-1

Bremerton 3-2 5-5

Sequim 3-2 5-4

Port Angeles 2-1 5-2

Olympic 2-3 3-5

North Mason 1-3 5-5

Kingston 0-5 0-8

In an early-season battle between league undefeateds, North Kitsap proved to be a tough match-up for the host Sequim Wolves.

Junior combo guard Shaw Humphrey scored 20 points and freshman guard Bobby Siebers added 15 as the Vikings handed Sequim its first league loss of the season in a 70-55 decision on Dec. 18.

Sequim senior guard Nate Despain had 20 points, 11 rebounds, three assists and three steals in the loss.

Teammate Kyler Rollness sank three 3-pointers and had 13 points overall to go with four offensive rebounds, while Erik Christensen added nine points.

North Kitsap’s Vikings, the Olympic League leaders at 4-0 who also got 10 points from guard Kobe McMillian, used their physicality to turn a three-point (31-28) halftime advantage into a double-digit win. NK shot 26 free throws (making 19) while Sequim got to the line just six times.

Wolves fall at Crosspoint

Sequim dropped a 64-52 decision to non-league 2B foe Crosspoint in Silverdale on Dec. 19. Crosspoint’s Warriors, who play in the SeaTac 2B league and were regional tourney qualifiers last season, were led by center Alex Weirth’s 25 points. Nathan Taylor had 20 points and D.J. Doty chipped in 15.

Despain led Sequim with 12 points while Christiansen and Joey Oliver had nine. Riley Cowan and Michael Young scored eight points each for the Wolves, who held a 30-27 lead at halftime before the Warriors came back.

“Crosspoint’s bigs played very well and we had trouble keeping them away from the basket,” Sequim coach Greg Glasser said.

“(Sequim forward) Rigo Langston played very well against the bigger players (Weirth is 6-5, Doty is 6-4) from Crosspoint,” Glasser said. “Big shots down the stretch by D.J. Doty was the difference.”

Crosspoint is led by coach Derrin Doty, a Sequim High grad who was a starter on the 1987-88 SHS basketball team that took a 25-0 record and the state’s No. 1 ranking into the state championship game before falling to Rainier Beach.

“Coach Doty does a great job with his players; they were well-prepared and had a great game plan,” Glasser said.

Trojans edge Wolves in league battle

Sequim got 19 points from Despain and 12 from Rollness but it wasn’t enough in a 69-64 road loss at Olympic on Dec. 21 (results of the game were not available in the Dec. 26 print edition because of early holiday deadlines).

Brandon Barron had 23 points and Caleb Morgan chipped in 21 for the Trojans, who saw a 20-12 first quarter lead dissipate into a 31-28 Sequim lead by halftime before surging ahead in the third.

Sequim (3-2 in league, 5-4 overall) was again out-scored on the free throw line, getting just six attempts to Olympic’s 27.

Riley Cowan had nine points and eight rebounds while Despain had six assists and hit all three 3-point tries in defeat.

Sequim center Hayden Eaton saw his first action of the season, scoring six points and grabbing five rebounds.

Looking ahead

Sequim plays at Port Townsend’s Crush the Slush tournament over winter break, taking on 3A Ferndale at 10:25 a.m. on Dec. 28 before facing the host Redhawks at 6:45 p.m. on Dec. 29.

The Wolves are in Port Angles for a varsity double-header on Jan. 8 before hosting Kingston on Jan. 11.

Sequim guard Nate Despain, left, drives in for two of his team-high 20 points in a Dec. 18 Olympic League match-up against North Kitsap. NK won, 70-55. Sequim Gazette photo by Michael Dashiell

Sequim guard Nate Despain, center, looks for room to drive in a Dec. 18 Olympic League match-up against North Kitsap. Despite Despain’s 20 points, NK won the game 70-55. Sequim Gazette photo by Michael Dashiell

Sequim guard Kyler Rollness pressures North Kitsap guard Johny Olmsted in the first half of NK’s 70-55 win in Sequim on Dec. 18. Rollness had 13 points in the loss. Sequim Gazette photo by Michael Dashiell