In an aggressive yet ugly game by the Wolves basketball team, South Kitsap managed to pull out a difficult 64-53 win against the Yelm Tornadoes Jan. 27 at home.

The Wolves were quick to strike when Austin Bayne took the ball to the hoop for an easy layup just seconds into the game.

But the Tornadoes retaliated immediately with a three-pointer.

Isaijah Byrd pushed for the lead with a quick drive through pressure to the basket, putting the Wolves up 7-3.

Isaiah Lewis was a powerhouse in the key, collecting rebounds to get on the board and keeping the Wolves on top.

After back-and-forth play and fouls committed by both teams, the Tornadoes hit a quick bucket to take their first lead of the game at 10-8.

Yelm’s high-pressure defense proved challenging for the Wolves at times. But strong defense by Lewis and a few key shots by senior Eric Wattree kept South Kitsap within a bucket the entire first quarter.

The Tornadoes continued shooting threes to pad their lead, but Bayne capitalized on a loose ball in the key to pull the Wolves back within two.

At the end of the first quarter, the Tornadoes led the Wolves 14-12.

To start the second quarter, Jesse Strutz made quick work catching a rebound. Breaking the full-court press of the Tornadoes, the Wolves worked the ball up the court to Daniel Tomkiewicz, who made a well-handled layin.

It seemed the Wolves began to figure out Yelm’s strong defense and made sharp passes to break through the pressure and get back on top. Lewis rifled a crisp pass to Strutz for an easy layup, quickly followed by a Wattree three that put the Wolves up 19-14.

On the inbound pass, Byrd drove to the hoop to kiss the ball off the glass and continue pushing the Wolves lead. He then proceeded to steal the ball back to add two more to the scoreboard, making the score 23-14 with two minutes to play in the half.

The Wolves continued to press and play strong defense to get the ball back on the other side of the court. The Tornadoes, however, were awarded several free throws, giving them 22 points to the Wolves 27.

With 30 seconds left in the half, the Wolves rebounded a missed three-point attempt by the Tornadoes and took the ball down court for a final attempt. It was blocked at the last second, giving the Wolves the ball out of bounds with two seconds to play.

With a quick ball in to Lewis, he passed it back to Wattree in the corner, who drained the three as the buzzer went off, sending the Wolves ahead 33-22 at the end of the half.

Back on the court after halftime, Wattree hit an easy jump shot to get the scoring rolling for South Kitsap.

Yelm quickly responded with a layup and two three pointers. The Wolves then gave up a couple fouls, sending the Tornadoes to the line, bringing them back within four, 35-31.

Feeling the heat, Lewis converted two free throws and Tomkiewicz hit a three to push the Wolves lead to 42-31.

The Wolves kept up the pressure on offense after a quick sucession of passes left Lewis open in the key for an easy layin. That was followed with a quick steal and a pass to  Tomkiewicz down-court for two more.

Yelm finally got on the board with a layup before the end of the third period for a 50-35 Wolves lead.

Byrd blocked a three-point attempt by Yelm to put the Wolves back on offense. However, the Tornadoes made back-to-back twos. Byrd retaliated by scoring on back-to-back drives himself, building the Wolves’ lead to 54-39.

The Tornadoes applied full-court pressure to the Wolves, forcing turnovers and sloppy passes that allowed Yelm to shoot a series of threes to make the score 55-47.

With less than three minutes to play, Bayne caught a lucky bounce in the key and flicked the ball to Byrd, who scored a layin. After giving up eight points in a row, this livened the South Kitsap crowd.

Lewis continued to get rebound after rebound, finally sinking a bucket, after which he headed to the line for an extra point.

The tornadoes were able to make a final three-pointer, but it wasn’t enough. Wattree made a couple of free throws, pushing the final score to 64-53.

“It wasn’t pretty,” head coach John Callaghan said. “But the aggressiveness was awesome.

“I’m not sure we took care of the ball down the stretch, but this was a big win.”

The Wolves play Gig Harbor Jan. 29, which Callaghan said  is a big game for them. But if Byrd plays a similar game as he did agains Yelm, South Kitsap will be a difficult team to contend with.

“Byrd had a coming-out party tonight,” Callaghan said. “That’s the best, by far, I’ve seen him play. With that out there, we’re going to be a tough team to face these next few weeks.”