Community Sports

Sports Beat | Gig Harbor boys open district play with double-overtime win

Gig Harbor knocked off fifth-seeded Todd Beamer, 70-65, in double overtime on Feb. 12 in the Tides’ Class 3A District 3/4 boys basketball tournament opener. Gig Harbor (15-10) advanced to a winner-to-state game against Bellarmine on Friday, February 14th.

Wednesday’s game was one of the most dramatic in recent memory.

The Tides started fast, with senior guard Cole Browne slashing to the hoop for three contested buckets in the first quarter and Michael Masini leaping high above the crowd to yank rebounds and start the fast break.

The 6-foot-8 Masini has been a terror on the boards this season. He collected 18 rebounds in his team’s previous game, a 68-43 win over Silas, to tie the school’s season record for rebounds.

His 17 rebounds against Todd Beamer were also impressive. Masini controlled the paint against the Titans, who were riding the hot hand of senior guard Terrance Whiting, one of the leading scorers in the 3A classification at 22.7 points per game. Whiting finished with 31 points against Gig Harbor.

Gig Harbor forward Michael Masini scored 28 points and his 17 rebounds gave him the Gig Harbor single-season record. Photo courtesy of Gig Harbor basketball

Many fouls, many overtimes

Referees blew the whistle more in this game than at a tequila bar in Cabo San Lucas. Four players fouled out and Masini went to the foul line 28 times, making 20 free throws to tie another Gig Harbor record.

The Tides rode the hot hand of junior guard Quentin Bockhorn, who made five of six 3-pointers. None was bigger than the one that tied the game with just over a minute to go in the fourth quarter.

Browne and Bockhorn fouled out in the first overtime, but the Tides still led by three with 10 seconds to go. Whiting tied it with a step-back 3-pointer with three seconds remaining.

Gig Harbor guard Ty Buchanan launched a desperation half-court shot that missed, but the referees called a foul with under a second to go and the score tied. But Buchanan missed all three free throws, sending the game to a second overtime as the Beamer players thanked their lucky stars.

Quentin Bockhorn made five of six 3-pointers in the Tides’ playoff win over Todd Beamer. Photo courtesy of Gig Harbor basketbal

In the second overtime, Masini cashed in two from the line, Buchanan got another chance and drilled his free throws and reserve guard Troy Arnold made a driving layup after picking a Beamer player’s pocket for a steal. The Tides escaped with a gut-wrenching, 70-65 victory that put a few grey hairs on coach Billy Landram’s head.

Masini led the Tides with 28 points and 17 rebounds. Bockhorn contributed 15 points while Buchanan had 14 points and Browne 11.

Gig Harbor plays at Bellarmine in a winner-to-state game at 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 14. The loser of that game gets a second chance to qualify for state. See the full bracket here.

Gig Harbor girls face loser-out game on Saturday

The Gig Harbor girls basketball team opened up the district playoffs against a familiar foe, the Lincoln Abes, in Tacoma on Thursday, Feb. 13. The Tides (13-11) rode a furious fourth-quarter comeback to pull within three before the Abes pulled away to win 51-44.

Gig Harbor employed an extended 2-3 zone defense, forcing the Abe’s to drive and kick for perimeter shots. The strategy worked early, but the Tides struggled to secure defensive rebounds. Lincoln took a 27-20 lead into halftime.

The Tides kept it close early in the third period, but Lincoln splashed three 3-pointers to take a 40-28 lead when the fourth quarter began.

The Tides girls basketball team talks it over before a recent game. Photo courtesy of Gig Harbor basketball

Behind strong play from Anika Jones, Willow Bonnici and Kayiliah Miller, the Tides found themselves trailing just 47-44 with the ball and 41 seconds remaining. But Bonnici, who led Gig Harbor with 15 points, missed a running shot on the baseline. Lincoln grabbed the rebound, made free throws down the stretch and closed out the game.

The Tides undoubtedly regret their 10-for-23 free-throw shooting during the seven-point loss. But they deserve credit for fighting back in the fourth quarter.

Gig Harbor hosts Federal Way in a loser-out game at 4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 15. See the bracket here.

Tides, Seahawks 1-2 at district swim meet

The Gig Harbor boys swimming and diving team won the West Central District lll Class 3A championship at the Mount Tahoma pool with a staggering total of 291 points. The Tides scored team points in all 12 events.

Seventeen teams participated in the district meet, but the Tides’ only real challenger came from across town. Peninsula finished second at the Puget Sound League championships and were right off the Tides’ shoulders again at districts.

The Seahawks finished second with an impressive total of 205 points, 18 points ahead of third-place Silas. Local district champions include:

200 medley relay: The Seahawks won in an impressive time of 1:43 flat, 1.9 seconds faster than the second-place Gig Harbor team.

200 yard freestyle: Gig Harbor’s Aiden Hammer won in 1.38.89, with teammate Travis Scott in second. I’d bet my farm and your farm that Hammer is crowned a state champion next week. So would University of Texas head coach Bob Bowman. Hammer recently switched his college choice from the California Bears to the Longhorns, the No. 1-ranked swimming and diving team in the NCAA. Bowman was the personal coach for Michael Phelps, the greatest swimmer of all time, who won 23 Olympic gold medals.

Gig Harbor swimmer Aiden Hammer signed with the University of Texas.

Diving: Gig Harbor’s James Ferrier combined high-degree-of-difficulty dives with ripped entries to win the district title. It wasn’t close, as Ferrier won by 43 points over a Timberline diver.

100 yard butterfly: Jonah Bergerson of Peninsula remained undefeated in the race this season with a district title swim of 51.49, which added 16 points to the Seahawks’ team total. He would add another 16 points later when he won the 100-yard backstroke district title in 53.72.

500 yard freestyle: Hammer, who finished second in the Junior Nationals in this event, had time to read a book while waiting for a second-place swimmer from Decatur to touch the wall. Hammer, the state record holder in the event, has dropped 10 seconds from his time this year and will be the favorite to win a state championship next weekend.

200 yard freestyle relay: The Tides finished second and the Seahawks third in this event, the most exciting of the day. Silas won in 1:32.23 to nip the Tides and Seahawks by one just second.

100 yard breaststroke: It was the same order in this race, with the Tides’ Davis Horton finishing second in 1:01.98 and Tyler Givot of Peninsula third in 105.40.

400-yard freestyle relay: Gig Harbor clinched the team title with a victory over Silas in 3:21.29. Peninsula finished third in 3:39.01.

The Class 3A swimming and diving state championship meet is Feb. 20 through Feb. 23 at the King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way.

Gig Harbor bowlers 10th at state

After we featured the Peninsula girls bowling team and their Puget Sound League Nisqually Division crown in a previous Sports Beat, the Gig Harbor Tides might have felt a bit slighted. After all, they won the Narrows Division but remained in the shadows after finishing seventh at the PSL championships by just four pins to become the last qualifying team to the districts.

The Tides got the last laugh when they went to districts and qualified for the state tournament.

At districts, the Tides were led by junior Kim Bornt, with a combined score of 531. Seniors Ivy Goodkin (490), Evelina Vetra (430), Mackenzie Olesen (418) and Violet Novack’s (365) rounded out the scoring.

“As their coach for the past three years I’ve watched the girls continually improve by going as a team for the first time to districts last year and now improving to qualify as a team for state this year,” coach Lillian Amrine said. “I’m very proud of them, they always compete with positive attitudes and encourage each other no matter what the outcome.”

The team finished 10th at state, which was Feb. 5 and 6 at Bowlero in Tukwila. Goodkin tossed a 951 and Bornt bowled a 946.

Peninsula just missed out on qualifying to state as a team. PSL tournament champ Ashley Richards represented the Seahawks, bowling a 1,014 to finish 10th in the individual 3A state standings.

The Gig Harbor bowling team finished 10th in the Class 3A state championships. Photo courtesy Gig Harbor bowling