Warriors In Must-Win Situation After Loss to Squalicum

When they lost to Lakes, they were angry. When they fell to Fife, they were incredulous. But Friday night, they were silent.

And shortly after losing 56-54 to Squalicum in the regional round of the 2A state tournament at Mount Tahoma High School, the Clover Park boys basketball team filed out of the locker room in a single, green-clad line, without saying a word.

Coach Mel Ninnis’ explanation was both literal and figurative.

“We didn’t handle the storm very well,” he said in pointing out that his team averages seven turnovers a game and had 14 Friday, nine of which came in the first half. “Just nervous, I guess.”

Senior forward Tana Pritchard hit back-to-back layups to give Clover Park a 54-53 lead with under a minute left, but on the Storm’s next possession, he opted to double-team a player, which left King open for what Ninnis called a “wild layup.”

“That’s my fault, that’s coaching,” Ninnis said. “That’s my responsibility to get him disciplined enough to stay with his man, and he doesn’t score.”

Crisp missed a jumper on Clover Park’s next possession and they were forced to foul – and never got the ball back.

“Hats off to them,” Ninnis said. “They played well – very well – and we didn’t play well at all.”

The game got off to a slow start, with neither team scoring until freshman guard David Crisp made a layup with 5:43 left in the opening period en route to a team-high 17 points. Two-time defending state champion Squalicum responded quickly as junior guard Joseph Chunphakvenn made his first of seven points of the quarter and 16 overall.

The Storm (16-8) took a 15-9 lead into the second quarter, but once again, it was the Warriors (23-3) who scored first, a 3-pointer by freshman guard Ahmaad Rorie, his first of two in the period and 14 of the night.   

“I’m fine with them,” Ninnis said of the freshman duo. “I’m just disappointed with some other people I am responsible for.”

Tana Pritchard, who scored 12 points, added a layup to narrow the deficit to 14-19, but missed a dunk that would have put the Warriors within two. Enter Crisp, whose soaring 3-pointer cut the Storm’s lead to 23-21 entering halftime.

“It didn’t go as planned,” Crisp said. “We didn’t come out with enough intensity that we should have had in the first half, and we didn’t stay disciplined on defense.”

The Warriors came out with renewed intensity in the third quarter, outscoring the Storm 19-16 as Pritchard hit consecutive shots and Crisp added his second jumper of the night.

A pair of free-throws by Rorie cut the deficit to 36-35, and despite Squalicum forwards Chris Qualls Jr. and King hitting back-to-back 3-pointer, the Warriors took a 40-39 lead with under a minute left in the period as junior forward Dwayne Crawford stole the ball for a layup.

The final quarter was a back-and-forth battle as Clover Park built a three-point lead and then Qualls hit a 3-pointer to tie it 46-all. He led scoring with 21 points.

Senior forward Travis Kurtz shot a pair of free throws and senior forward Marcus Sheppard responded with two points of his own to tie it again at 50 before the wild finish.

Despite the loss, Ninnis was optimistic that his team will prosper against Port Angeles today at 3 p.m. at Mount Tahoma for the No. 3 seed into the 2A Hardwood Classic, which begins Thursday in Yakima. Squalicum advances to Thursday’s quarterfinal as the No. 1 seed.

“In life, the greatest successes are not yesterday,” he said. “It’s always ahead of us, and I hope our greatest success is ahead of us.”

Squalicum -- 15 8 16 17 -- 56
Clover Park -- 9 12 19 14 -- 54

Squalicum -- Kurtz 4, Chunphakvenn 16, King 11, Qualls 21, Pierce 4.

Clover Park -- Crisp 17, M. Brown 2, Rorie 14, Pritchard 12, Crawford 3, I. Brown, Sheppard 6.