BOYS BASKETBALL | South Kitsap’s run falls short

Turnovers plague Wolves in 68-64 Class 4A Narrows League loss at Stadium

TACOMA — South Kitsap coach John Callaghan insisted it was not an oversight.

He said the decision to call a timeout with none remaining, which resulted in a technical foul with about 2.5 seconds left Wednesday night, was strategic in the Wolves’ 68-64 loss at Stadium in a Class 4A Narrows League contest.

Callaghan hoped to disrupt the Tigers and free-throw shooter Bobby Moorehead. But Moorehead, who scored a game-high 26 points, converted both free throws to give Stadium a two-possession lead.

“We were out of time outs, but you stop the clock,” Callaghan said. “If they miss a free throw, get a turnover — those things happen at the end of the game. That was our only chance.”

And one that South (9-6 overall, 3-4 league) was fortunate to have after its start. When guard Prince Hamilton hit a 3-pointer with 3 minutes, 3 seconds, left in the first quarter, Stadium increased its lead to 15-2. The Tigers (7-8, 5-3) held a 22-9 advantage entering the second period.

Senior guard Aaron Scott, who scored a team-high 22 points, recognized a problem early.

“In the first half we came out with no intensity at all,” he said. “I could tell in warmups. We should be breaking a sweat in warmups. We weren’t going as hard as we can.”

Scott said Callaghan addressed that issue at halftime. But the coach felt his team’s enhanced play — they outscored the Tigers 24-6 during the third quarter — was about more than effort.

“We played aggressive and attacked the basket,” Callaghan said. “We were getting the shots we wanted.”

And in the first half?

“We were just passive,” Callaghan said. “We were just reacting to what they were doing instead of getting down low and making contact. We can’t play like that. We have to be the aggressor.”

The Wolves’ penetration enabled them to pass the ball out to Scott and others for some uncontested 3-pointers. That included the one Scott hit with 36 seconds remaining in the third quarter that gave South its first lead, 47-44, of the game.

“I got my shot down and started to feel it,” Scott said. “Once I hit a few it built my confidence.”

Scott converted 6 of 9 shots from beyond the arc.

“Aaron can stroke it,” Callaghan said. “He can shoot it with the best of them.”

But Stadium seemed content with matching Scott’s outside shooting prowess. The Tigers broke a 51-all tie with 3-pointers by Moorehead and guard Robbie Bernovich with 3:02 left.

South later cut its deficit to 59-56 with 2:16 remaining when junior wing Eric Wattree, who scored 16 points, hit a jumper. But Moorehead responded with a 10-foot field goal, and then stole a pass and found Hamilton for an uncontested layup. That increased the Tigers’ advantage to 63-56 with 1:41 left.

“Silly turnovers,” Callaghan said. “We just had some turnovers you can’t have. It was just a matter of not seeing the defense.”

The Wolves committed 17 turnovers — eight more than Stadium — and Callaghan said one player contributed to much of that.

“[Hamilton] is quick,” he said. “He’s a good defender. He jumps into passing lanes really well.”

Despite that, South made a late run. Wattree hit a 3-pointer with 12 seconds left to decrease the Wolves’ deficit to 65-61. The Wolves then fouled Moorehead, who split a pair of free throws, and Scott converted his final 3-pointer with about 2.5 seconds remaining to cut the Tigers’ lead to 66-64.

It marked the second memorable conclusion in as many meetings between the teams. South, which won 53-49 on Dec. 10, needed senior point guard Travis Delgado to sink the go-ahead free throws with one-tenth of a second remaining in the first meeting to secure the victory. The Wolves extended the margin when Stadium was assessed a technical foul on the inbounds.

When the scores of both games are combined there is no point differential between the teams. For that reason, both Callaghan and Scott said they would welcome another game against the Tigers during next month’s 4A West Central District Tournament.

“I would love to play them again in the playoffs,” Scott said. “That would be awesome.”