PORT ANGELES — When the final buzzer sounded last night at Roughrider Gymnasium with the scoreboard showing a dominate 80-63 win by the seventh ranked Roughriders over the #1 Ranked North Kitsap Vikings, there was no wild melee celebration. The Roughrider student body did not rush the floor. Why? The Roughriders expected to win. The big question is: Will the sports writers in the A.P. poll see their blunder and rank the Roughriders number one?
Last night showed that Roughrider Head Coach Kasey Ulin did not just start coaching yesterday. With 6’9″ Sr John Vaara and 6’5″ Sr Wyatt Dunning, Ulin designed a game plan to get them the ball. The Vikings have no one who can match up with the two Roughrider big men. Dunning scored inside and out including some three ball seemingly from the downtown ferry dock. Dunning led the way with twenty-seven points and Vaara hit for twenty-three points.
And just when you thought you saw Roughrider point guard Xander Maestas play his best game, he continues to get better as the games get bigger. Maestas was outstanding running the Roughrider offense and hitting several jumpers with Viking defenders in his face. Maestas ended the game with thirteen points. Parker Nickerson, Quanah Wheeler and Michael Soule all had big shots and plays in the win. With the game tied at the half at 36, the Roughriders really won the game in the third quarter going up by eleven points at the 1:25 minutes mark of the third quarter. The closest the Vikings could get was with 2:37 left they pulled to within eight at 68-60. The Roughriders and Vikings are Olympic league Co-champs and at press time may have to flip a coin for seeding in the district tournament.
Meanwhile, last night the Port Angeles Roughrider girls blew out the North Kitsap Vikings 62-40. The Roughriders ended the game in the first quarter outscoring the Vikings 27-1. Eve Burke lead the way with twenty-one points, Anna Petty had twelve points and Jenna McGoff scored 6. The Roughriders are Olympic League champions due to a stronger RPI over Sequim which had the same record.