The comeback story will have to be written another night.
With a barrage of three-pointers and free throws, Sequim’s Wolves came back from a 10-point deficit to within three, but Olympic’s Trojans held on for a 52-49 league win Jan. 18.
Ary Webb had 15 points and Nic Thacker added 12 but Sequim suffered their third consecutive loss, following their Jan. 4 upset of league-leading Port Townsend.
Down 48-38 with 59 seconds on the clock, Thacker drained a three-pointer and after Olympic was called for traveling, he hit a pair of free throws to cut the lead to five.
After a Trojan free throw, Clancy Catelli aced a three-pointer to trim Olympic’s lead to 49-46 with 19.7 seconds remaining.
With five seconds on the clock, an Olympic turnover gave the Wolves a chance, but John Textor’s desperation three-pointer fell short.
The Trojans hit a pair of free throws, then fouled Webb with three seconds left. Webb nailed all three free throws to cut the lead to two points, but Olympic hit one free throw and stole an errant Sequim inbounds pass to seal the win.
It looked as if the Wolves were going to put together a victory as they sank key shots early for a 14-9 first-half lead. The Trojans, however, saw Vaughn Jones and Larry Dixon lead a Trojan offense that went on a 11-2 spurt and held a 20-16 halftime lead.
That lead ballooned to 29-20 before a Sequim run cut the Trojan lead to just 31-30 after three quarters, capped by Webb’s three-point bomb.
Sequim held a 33-31 lead early in the fourth quarter thanks to a dazzling save by Reed Omdal and field goal-and-foul play from Thacker.
But the Trojans built a lead they barely managed to hold on to late with a 17-5 streak, helped in part by some poor shooting by the Wolves.
Sequim finished shooting just 18-of-51 from the floor, or about 35-percent, and hit all but one of their five three-pointers in the fourth quarter.
Mike Silliman, Sequim’s center, battled foul trouble all night and was able to contribute just two points and six rebounds.
“I was really off today,” Silliman said, after his fourth game back from knee surgery. “I had three good looks — they just didn’t go in today. What you saw out there today was a joke. It’s not me … (but) I already forgot about it. It’s in the locker room.”
The Wolves were scheduled to play at Klahowya Jan. 22, a crucial game for both teams trying to catch 2A frontrunners Port Townsend and North Mason. Results of that game were unavailable at press time. The Wolves (3-6 in league, 4-9 overall) take on Port Angeles at home Jan. 29.
“We have a big stretch coming up,” Silliman said. “We’re starting to play together and we showed that today. I’m really encouraged.”
