South Kitsap hoop teams play four games in four days

The last time a South Kitsap High School boys basketball team played four games in four days was it placed eighth at the state tournament last March.

Last week the Wolves pulled off another string of four games in four days, only this time it led to a championship at the Red Lion Holiday Prep Classic in Pendleton, Ore.

After winning at Bremerton last Wednesday, the SK boys and girls team hopped on the longest bus ride of their young lives Thursday.

After a brief stop in Portland, a huge gust of wind busted the bus door open causing major damage to the door.

From that point on, the bus drove at a reduced speed. Nearly five hours later (the trip normally takes three hours from Portland to Pendleton), the teams arrived just one hour before tip off for the boys game against Baker at 7 p.m.

The teams didn’t have enough time to check in the Red Lion Hotel and freshen up.

Assistant coach Darren Bowden commented before the game against Baker that this would be the first game he’s coached in sweats.

Many of the players commented the bus trip to Pendleton was very long.

But they responded with an emphatic 36-point win. The girls were not as fortunate, dropping a 59-45 decision to Baker in a game that followed the boys’ game.

Reserves kick

into high gear

While the idea was for the SK boys and girls teams to get better, it also provided players new to varsity this year an opportunity to log some playing time.

Every SK boys player scored in the win against Baker. In fact, the starting five played an accumulation of one quarter, while the reserves played the majority of the game.

SK coach John Callaghan used his reserves because of a cushion, but SK coach Mike Allen was forced to use his reserves for a bevy of reasons.

After losing the first game, the SK starters struggled to get things going in the second game against Ontario, which ended in a 49-29 defeat.

SK ended the tournament with a 19-point loss to LaGrande, Ore.

But Allen praised the contributions of his reserve players, which included Melissa Ballard, Dominique Jones, Kristin Myles, Marissa Costello, and Lindsey Costello.

“They actually played better,” Allen said. “That last unit I put in played better against Ontario than our starters. They had 15 points in the fourth quarter and our starters had 14 points through the first three quarters.”

On the flip side of the tournament, the boys team had breakout games from its reserves, including sophomore Jamil Moore, who showed his shooting touch with 10 points, including two three-pointers to lead all reserve players.

Joe Summers added eight points off the bench. Cody McCulley and Ryan Marshall (two three-pointers) each had six points, and Albert Jenkins chipped in five points.

SK girls searching

for a court leader

There’s no question one of the most critical positions on the basketball court is the point guard position.

The point guard is responsible for taking care of the ball, controlling the flow of the offense, and is traditionally the vocal leader. That has proven to be the girls’ biggest weakness this year, Allen said.

“We just don‚t have a true point guard,” Allen said. “We don’t have anybody that’s willing to take that on. We don’t have that guard that can really distribute the ball, penetrate down the middle and kick the ball out.”

Allen said he doesn’t see how he can get out of the point-guard by committee, which is how the offense has been run thus far into the season.

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