PHOTO: The 20-4 Sequim Wolves celebrated their regional win over Lindbergh and now face state powerhouse Mark Morris (20-5) tomorrow at the Yakima SunDome
BY OLY ARCHIBALD
YAKIMA — Tomorrow, the Sequim Wolves boys basketball team (20-4) will take on the Mark Morris Monarchs (20-5) in the State 2A tournament at the Yakima SunDome.
The Monarchs are a regular at the state tournament and are competing for hardware. In the 2023-24 tournament, they lost to Lynden in the state championship game.
Last season was the final one for legendary head coach Bill Bakamus, who coached at Toledo and Mark Morris for 41 years. The Monarchs went 0-2 in last year’s tournament, losing to Olympic League teams North Kitsap (58-48) and Bremerton (51-47).
Mark Morris fell in the district championship game to No. 2 seed R.A. Long, 57-52, before losing to Lynden in the regional round, 70-50. Their biggest win of the season was an 82-79 double-overtime victory over No. 11 seed Columbia River.
The Monarchs are led by 6-foot-3 senior guard Dalton Stevens (20 ppg), 5-foot-11 senior guard Nathan Stephens (15 ppg), and 6-foot-3 forward Carson Bogner (12 ppg).
Mark Morris’ 6’3″ guard Dalton Stevens averages 20 PPG and leads a veteran Monarchs team featuring 10 seniors.
Both teams have nearly identical scoring averages. The Monarchs average 67 points per game while allowing 50, while the Wolves score 65 per game and give up 48. However, Sequim has struggled offensively in two of its last three games against Franklin Pierce and Lindbergh, both of which used extended 1-2-2 zone defenses.
The game will be broadcast live on Newsradio KONP , with the Les Schwab Tires Pre-Game Show starting at 1:45 p.m. and tipoff at 2:00 p.m. Oly Archibald and Greg Thomas will have the play-by-play.
The winner will be guaranteed at least two more games and will face No. 2 seed R.A. Long (23-1) in a quarterfinal matchup Thursday at 2:00 p.m.
In other district matchups, No. 12 seed Franklin Pierce plays No. 4 seed West Valley of Spokane at 12:15 p.m. The winner will face No. 3 seed Bremerton on Thursday at 12:15 p.m.
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The third-ranked Peninsula Pirates women’s team opens the NWAC tournament tomorrow at noon against Chemeketa at Columbia Basin College in Pasco. A full scouting report on that game will be available tomorrow.
Pirates’ 6’3″ freshman Alecsis Smith is back and healthy, making them a legitimate contender for the NWAC Final Four.