South Kitsap taken apart by Tuell

"Elements usually seen in an NBA game took a turn at the high school level when South Kitsap High School hosted Stadium Wednesday night in a battle of unbeaten Narrows League boys basketball teams.Referees normally endure a little ribbing from coaches and fans, but it went to more of an extreme in an exciting fourth quarter. A Stadium player was juggling a basketball as if it was a soccer ball, a small contingent of Stadium fans were calling SK’s John Sehmel “Ricky Martin” every time he reached the foul line, and three-pointers reigned on both sides.It all came to a dramatic conclusion with the Tigers (3-0 in the NL) toppling the Wolves (2-1, 6-2 overall) 64-58.Junior Matt Tuell led Stadium’s arsenal with 25 points, 12 of them via the three-pointer.SK was led by Jason Young’s 17 points. Sehmel followed with 12 points.The win vaulted Stadium into sole possession of first place in the Bridge Division, while SK dropped to second place. Trailing 20-8 after the first quarter, the Wolves battled back in the second quarter, going on a 17-5 run to tie the game 25-25 at halftime.The teams exchanged four lead changes in the third quarter before Stadium took a three-point lead going into the climactic fourth quarter.The Wolves finished the game with seven three-pointers compared to Stadium’s five, and hit 18 of 24 free throws to Stadium’s 13 of 21. But the Tigers hit the free throws when it mattered most, netting 8 of 12 in the fourth quarter. Conversely, the Wolves were 13 of 15 from the line before the final quarter, but then they hit only 5 of 9.Up 52-45 with five minutes remaining, the Tigers decided to run a stall offense and run the clock down. Stadium burned nearly two minutes on one possession before committing a turnover.SK’s Brian Johnson took advantage of the turnover, converting a three-pointer to pull his team within four points.Stadium’s Robert Hudspeth, who scored a game-high 18 points, landed a pair of free throws to extend the lead to six points. It grew to seven with 47 seconds left, but Justin Dudley hit a three-pointer to pull SK within four. An SK turnover by Sehmel and an intentional foul by Ryan Letson led to clutch Stadium free throws to seal the victory.SK coach John Callaghan said the game was a prime example of individual statistics having no meaning.“We got beat by guys that play like a team. If you go man for man, we have more talent than them, but they’re a team. They were just tougher than we were,” Callaghan said.Though the Wolves hadn’t played in almost two weeks, Callaghan said that was no excuse for lacking execution.“When we needed a basket, most we didn’t get into our offense, and you need to run your offense if you want to score,” Callaghan said. “We need to score off the pass more.”"

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