By Oly Archibald
PORT ANGELES — The Bremerton dunk machine rolls into Port Angeles tonight as the Roughriders boys basketball team takes on the number-one ranked, defending state champion Bremerton Knights.
The Knights, now 12-0 in league play and 16-2 overall, are finally healthy and primed to begin another run at district and state titles.
If you need proof of just how dominant Bremerton is, look no further than last week’s 84-41 blowout of Bainbridge on the Spartans’ home floor. The Knights’ baseline-to-baseline, high-energy, in-your-face defense wore down a Bainbridge team featuring two Division I athletes, outscoring the Spartans 36-14 in the second half.
Bremerton’s All-American junior guard Jalen Davis is back and healthy, averaging 30 points, 10 rebounds, and six steals per game. He scored 16 points against Bainbridge and is ranked by one scouting service as the 17th-best player in the nation and the fourth-best shooting guard. Davis holds offers from Gonzaga, Oregon, Washington, Houston, and others.
Bremerton’s 6-foot-3 junior Jalen Davis is ranked the fourth-best shooting guard in the nation and is averaging 30 points per game.
Football standout Enoch Taylor led the Knights against Bainbridge with 18 points. The 6-foot-1 junior is averaging 13 points per game. The Roughriders will also have to contend with 6-foot-2 junior Jacquan Davis-McWorter, who is also averaging 13 points per contest.
Bremerton is averaging 80 points per game while allowing just 49. The Roughriders, 8-4 in league play and 10-7 overall, are averaging 56 points while giving up 52.
It was believed Port Angeles had solved its full-court press issues that have plagued the team the past two seasons. But those problems resurfaced in the fourth quarter against Sequim, when the Roughriders saw a late lead slip away — not a good sign with arguably the best pressing team in the state coming to town.
You can hear tonight’s game live on KONP Newsradio, with the pregame show starting at 6:45. Greg Thomas has the play-by-play, with Joe Gladfelter on color.
Meanwhile, the Port Angeles girls, 11-1 in league play and 13-6 overall, travel to Bremerton tonight for a 7-o’clock tip.
Roughriders guards #14 Storey Schmidt and #13 Morgan Politika look to attack the lane as Port Angeles tries to come away with a win against Bremerton tonight.
The Roughriders girls will host Kingston for Senior Night on Thursday.