Boys Basketball: Warriors Earn Trip To Yakima

On the final timeout of Saturday afternoon, Clover Park head coach Mel Ninnis stood with his players as a small smile escaped.

The Warriors were up by 11 and there was less than a minute left in their state playoff elimination game against Port Angeles at Mount Tahoma High School.

One free throw later and the Warriors were headed to Yakima for the 2A state quarterfinals after defeating the Roughriders 54-42. The win came as a relief to Ninnis after a lackluster performance against Squalicum, a game that would've advanced his team.

Despite being out-rebounded 30-28  for the second day in a row against Port Angeles – and shooting poorly, Ninnis said that his team played with energy.

“Everybody showed up and the cylinders were clicking,” he said.

And unlike Friday, senior forward Tana Pritchard had the day off — at his job at Starbucks, that is. Ninnis said that on days when he starts work there at 4 a.m. and then attends class they have flat games.

“It catches up to a young man,” he said. “It really does.”

But Saturday, Pritchard had the day off but the Warriors were on.

“It was a realization that this could be it for us if we didn’t make a team effort,” Pritchard said. “We know that’s the way we’ve won in the past, and the only we’ll win in the future is to play as a team.”

Clover Park (24-3) turned over the ball seven times and Port Angeles (19-9) had 21 turnovers, including five in the first quarter as the Warriors came out swinging to take a 15-6 lead that culminated in a soaring 3-pointer by freshman guard David Crisp at the buzzer.

The Warriors were relentless in the second quarter, going up by 13 after Pritchard slammed a back-door lob from Crisp with more than five minutes left in the half. Both tied for a game-high 16 points and three assists – including three alley-oop dunks between the pair.

Crisp, who felt that intensity played a crucial role in their win, said that Friday’s loss might have been beneficial.

“It makes us more hungry now that we know how it feels,” he said. “And winning feels good.”

Port Angeles closed the gap to one going into halftime after going on a 12-2 run. Roughriders junior forward Hayden McCartney’s consecutive 3-pointers helped the them narrow the deficit, 25-24. McCartney led Port Angeles with 11 points.

McCartney and senior guard Ian Ward’s 3-pointers stole the lead away from the Warriors twice in the third quarter, the latter putting Port Angeles up 35-32 with 1 minute, 30 seconds left in the period.

But Clover Park wasn’t going down without a fight, and Crisp sank a pair of 3-pointers in the first three minutes of the fourth quarter to give them a 41-35 lead. Freshman guard Ahmaad Rorie hit a 10-foot jumper shortly after en route to 10 points for the day.

Clover Park junior forward Dwayne Crawford played a key role in the second half, scoring eight points and grabbing nine rebounds – and his coach’s praise.

“Today, yesterday, the day before, he’s stepping up,” Ninnis said. “He’s a role player (and) his role gets us to Yakima.”

Crawford said that after Friday’s 56-54 loss to Squalicum, “We just wanted to come back and show them how Clover Park really plays.”

The new focus is making it to the state championship game.

“I’m going to the Sun Dome,” Ninnis said. “It feels good.”

Clover Park 15 10 8 21 – 54
Port Angeles 6 18 11 7 – 42

Scoring summary:

Clover Park – Crisp 16, M. Brown 2, Rorie 10, Pritchard 16, Crawford 8, Sheppard 2.
Port Angeles – Phair 7, Braithwaite 3, Walker 4, Antioquia 1, Ward 9, Wheeler 7, McCartney 11.