By Terry Mosher
Editor, Sports Paper
Klahowya second-year boy’s basketball coach, Jim Horan, decided to back away from the Grinnell College “System” Friday night at the Eagles’ Nest, and while it didn’t produce a victory, it did make for an interesting game with the visiting Sequim Wolves.
Sequim got 29 points from six-foot-four junior guard Alex Barry, who scored 20 in the first half, 14 of them in the second quarter, to boost the Wolves over the System-less Eagles, 59-47 in an Olympic League contest.
In the System, the idea is to press full-court with fresh bodies coming off the bench every 35-45 seconds, put up a lot of shots, most of them threes, and dare opponents to keep pace.
When the System didn’t work well against superior opponents, Horan, instead of beating his head against in immovable wall, backed off using a full-court press, preferring to set up in a half-court 2-3 zone, and move fresh bodies in and out every two or three minutes.
The change in strategy allowed his Eagles (0-5 in the OL, 1-7 overall) to hang around against the Wolves. They cut down their turnovers from 30 in Monday’s lost to Port Angeles to 20 and came close on the boards, losing that battle 35-27 (as opposed to 52-26 against PA.
Horan’s Eagles looked so much different from their other games they almost looked like a different team. But even with the change, the Wolves never were really threatened after the first quarter in which the visitors led 17-14.
But Barry scored on an assortment shots in the second quarter to pour in 14 points and the Wolves went into halftime with a 35-24 edge that was pushed out to 46-29 after three quarters.
The Eagles then did some full-court pressing in the final quarter and managed to slice the deficit to 10 points before falling by the final score to the Wolves (5-1 in league and 5-1 overall).
Barry, like most of his teammates, plays select ball in the off-season in a Sequim program.
“He’s got some ability,” said Sequim assistant coach Larry Hill, who has been with the high school program for years. “He lacks strength right now, but he’s got good length. He’s easily six-four right now and he’s probably got about a six-foot-six arm span. He’s a long kid, and he can really shoot it.
“He needs to get a little more mobile, a little more strength and he will be a little bit better off.”
As for the Eagles, they are between the devil and deep blue sea. Horan is still searching for the right balance for his team so it can compete against the bigger OL schools.
“We dialed it back by far,” said Horan of the System. “Against less competition, the System works. Against Chimacum (a win) it all came together. Then we had the high of Chimacum and the low of Crosspoint (a loss).
“So then we got into some stiffer competition and (the System) wasn’t working. My whole point was to try something new. We tried something new and it worked a little bit. But then in league play it wasn’t working. So I’m still searching for the balance.
“It’s a work in process. We have got to tweak a few things, but I think we are on the right track.”
Horan said he decided to pull back on a full-court press because teams were pouring through it for easy baskets. He dialed that back, which doesn’t allow for as many shots, but it does make for a more standard type basketball game in which the smaller Eagles have a chance to stick with some teams.
“So now we are not scoring as many points, but it’s more manageable so if at the end of the game we do have to try to ramp it up we are within striking distance.”
Which was the case Friday night. They couldn’t pull the game out, but Horan said the kids seemed happier that at least they had that chance, even if it was slim, to come from behind and win.
“There was a glimmer of hope there, but when you down 15 and 16, its all got to go your way, all the bounces, all the shots,” Horan said. “If the (System) is not working, it’s not working. You just can’t dig your heels in and say, this is how its going to be and I’m going to do it, and I know what is best, and I think I’m right. You got to be able to change. I was open to change at the start of the season, and I’m still open to change. It’s all about doing what is best for the team. I know that the boys, even through they lost, when they walked out of here their spirits were higher.”
So it goes for the Eagles, who were led in scoring by six-foot-one junior Connor Schnuit, who scored 10 points. Mitchell Knuckey, a six-foot-four senior, pulled down a team high 11 rebounds and added eight points, six in the fourth quarter when the Eagles outscored the Wolves, 18-13.
Sequim 59, Klahowya 47
Sequim – 17 18 11 13 – 59
Klahowya ‑ 14 10 5 18 – 47
Sequim (59) – Vance Willis 2, Alex Barry 29, Anthony Pinza 7, Rory Kallappa 13, Erik Christensen 7, George Johnson 1, Josh McConnaughey, Jesse Francis.
Klahowya (47) – Jacob Gotchall 5, Ricky Holquin 7, Mitchell Knuckey 8, Kendall Kitts 6, Connor Schnuit 10, Jon Harris 2, Dustin Brewer 5, Ryan Gotchall 4, Adam Wischhoefer, Nate Hough, Jerry Landram, Michael Mosher.