BHS Boys Varsity return
from Seattle without a win

by MARK BUTCHER

Sports Writer

No fireworks from the Bremerton High (BHS) Boys Varsity basketball team this last weekend at the Cleveland High July 4^th Tournament in Seattle, Wash. The Knight returned to Bremerton, Wash., Saturday (6/30) without a win, losing 69-to-39 to tournament host Cleveland Eagles Friday (6/29) night and then 42-to-39 to the Summit Spartans on Saturday.

None of the twelve Bremerton players that participated in the tournament recorded double-digit points in either contest. Returning senior varsity forward Kaleb Peterson, with 14 points, and incoming sophomore shooting guard Xavier Tolosa, with 10 points, were the team high-scorers for the weekend.

All was not bad, though, for the BHS Boys Varsity, especially against the Eagles. Yes, Cleveland had a distinct height advantage over the guard heavy Knights which they exploited on both ends of the floor but Bremerton showed, at times, they could play with a top-tier 3A Metro League team. Cleveland compiled a 10-5 (.667) record in the just completed prep 2017-18 3A Metro Valley League, second to the state champion Garfield Bulldogs.

The Knights shot thirty-nine percent from the floor, 12-for-28 (43%) from the floor and 3-for-10 (30%) from beyond the three-point arc, and were perfect from the charity strip, 4-for-4 (100%).

When the non-ballhandlers got out and ran the wings and the dribblers kept their head-up, looking for their open teammates down the floor, the BHS Boys scored easily, as evident by their new summer benchmark of 14 assists. Senior small forward Keoni Laquani led the Knight distribution with five of those assists.

Unfortunately, too often, Knight after Knight tried to break the tight man-on-man full-court pressure Cleveland defense with their Olympic League dribbling skills. More than a third of the time this individualized approach resulted in a Bremerton turnover (25 total) and Eagles points (22).

Additionally, Bremerton's primary offense against man-on-man defense, a duel ball-handler defender screen, was ineffective. The Cleveland defenders were well schooled in help defense and the BHS point guards were unable to turn the corner on the screen to get into the paint. Without off-ball player movement the Knights offense stagnated, producing only 38 field goal attempts in the 40-minute contest.

At the final buzzer, Peterson led the team with 8 points, in just 13 minutes of action, followed by Tolosa with five and Laquani with four points.

Besides his assist total, Laquani also led the team with seven rebounds, helped by returning junior guard Keith Jackmon with four boards, all defensive.

When the Knights returned to Cleveland High Saturday morning for their 11 a.m. game they were met with a pleasant surprised. They had made the 94-mile drive expecting to play the Franklin Democrats out of Portland, Ore. The Democrats are coming off a 15-1 (.937) Portland Interscholastic League record and a semi-final appearance in the Oregon 6A Boys Basketball State Tournament. Unable to make the trip across the state line, the Summit Spartans stepped in to take Franklin’s spot in the tournament.

Bolstered by the unexpected opponent change, the Bremerton starters – point guard Jackmon, shooter Tolosa, wing Laguani, forwards Peterson and McCoy Retome – jumped to a double-digit lead by the time head coach Miah Davis substituted them out at the 11-minute mark.

On the bench, the starters then watched the lead evaporate away by the play of their second platoon teammates– point guard Caleb Washington, shooter Ruppe Wilson, wing D’Angelo Moore, forwards Gavin King and Dwayne Clark. The second team managed to hit everything but the basket twine. In the eight minutes the coach gave them they scored only from the free throw line, converting 3 of 6 (50%) shots.

Had not Jackson (2 points), Retome (3 pts), and Peterson (2 pts) return to the game, with three minutes remaining in the half, Bremerton very easily could have been trailing at halftime. Instead, they took a 19-to-16 lead into intermission.

But the three-point lead evaporated almost instantaneously once the second half began. This time it was the first platoon that couldn’t fine the orange target. Laguani and Peterson did score a single field goal each, for 4 points, and Jackmon made the backend of two free throws, for a single point.

When given a second chance, the second platooners produced. King and Moore dropped four points each, Washington converted two successful free throws, and Wilson and Laquani each stole and rushed down the floor for a fast-break lay-in. With four minutes showing on the clock, the score stood tied at 35-all.

For the next three minutes the lead flipped back and four. If not for a backcourt ballhandling turnover by Moore and then by Washington, that Summit converted into points, the Knights would have advanced to the Sunday portion of the tournament.

Once again, team high-scorer honors went to Peterson, with 6 points in twenty-two minutes of action. Tolosa, Moore, and Retome followed with an additional five points each.

Laguani, King, and Retome were high rebounders, with seven board each, and Jackmon lead the Knights with two of the team’s five assists.