EAST BREMERTON — Port Angeles was firing from all angles on Tuesday night at Olympic High School, and while the Trojans did what they could to contest each shot, they ultimately watched field goal after field goal hit nothing but net.
The Roughriders hit 12 3-pointers and shot well above 50 percent from the floor as they rolled to a 31-point road victory over Olympic, 83-52, on Dec. 18.
Caleb Morgan scored 9 of his team-high 13 points in the first quarter, but by the end of that frame, the Riders were already up 23-13 thanks to Kyle Schmidt’s 5-for-5 performance from beyond the arc. Darelle White added 10 points off the bench for Olympic.
“They shot lights out,” said Olympic head coach Jon O’Connor. “That’s what we saw in the summer, that’s what they do. They’re one of the best shooting teams I’ve seen.”
The biggest thorns in Olympic’s side were the 6 foot, 6 inch Schmidt and 6 foot, 3 inch Kyle Benedict, who sunk 9 of the team’s 12 triples. Benedict finished with a game-high 20 points and Schmidt added 17. Four Roughriders finished in double digits.
“Those are the two guys that, if you come in and see our whiteboard before the game, I literally had a square around their names,” O’Connor said.
Meanwhile, Olympic struggled to find some secondary scoring beyond Morgan. Greg Brehmer, who has been dominant in the post this season, had a tough time against Roughriders forward Liam Clark, who was usually aided by a second player in a double-team. Brehmer had a few opportunities early but couldn’t get to the basket or draw any fouls.
“They were prepared for Greg, who’s been our best player all season,” O’Connor said.
Compounding matters were some mistakes made with the basketball. With the way Port Angeles shot on Tuesday, it seemed nearly every turnover ended up as points on the board for the opponent.
It was more of the same in the second half. Benedict hit his first three shots from the 3-point line and added a fourth in the final quarter. Even as the eighth, ninth and 10th players hit the floor for Port Angeles, the result didn’t change. Shots kept finding their way in.
The Trojans will have to turn it around quickly. The always scrappy and tough Sequim Wolves come to town on Friday night. They are coming off a loss to North Kitsap and eager to get back into the win column themselves.
“Are we going to pout and mope around and come out Friday night and get beat here again, or are we going to make an adjustment? I gave them that challenge,” O’Connor said.
It has been a tough trip through the first round of league games for the Trojans. O’Connor said he doesn’t think his team is a 2-5 team, but “that is reality.”
Fortunately, they get another shot at every team in January.
“We’re not done. There’s a lot of basketball to play in the league,” O’Connor said. “We have to play them again.”
Port Angeles 83, Olympic 52
PA 23 17 21 22 — 83
Oly 13 9 15 15 — 52
Port Angeles (83) — Benedict 20, Schmidt 17, Clark 12, Edwards 12, Kathol 9, Lunt 5, Methner 3, Nickerson 3, Johnson 2.
Olympic (52) — Morgan 13, White 10, Barron 8, Brehmer 5, McInnis 5, Nelson 3, Holland 2, Kinsfather 2, Lindal 2, Shelton 2.
Greg Brehmer (50) tries to get by Liam Clark of Port Angeles in an 83-52 loss on Dec. 18. (Mark Krulish/Kitsap News Group)
