Gar-Pal Gets It Done Kimble’S 38 Points Game Free-Wheeling Neah Bay
And we quote: “The 9 a.m. tournament-opening game has produced upsets, but this won’t be one of them.”
True, it wasn’t when underdog Neah Bay opened the boys State B high school basketball tournament against highly ranked and highly favored Garfield-Palouse at the Arena Wednesday morning.
But oh, was it fun while it lasted.
The free-wheeling and free-shooting Red Devils of the behind-the-back and no-look passes put a scare in the Vikings before fading in the fourth quarter to lose 83-67.
It didn’t help that Gar-Pal’s Jeremy Kimble wouldn’t let his team crumble, erupting for a career-high 38 points.
The Red Devils played without longtime head coach Ron Johnson, who was in Seattle, awaiting a Friday doctor’s appointment and a possible chance to fly over and resume his duties.
“I was worried,” Gar-Pal coach Tim Coles said. “We were either going to stop the penetration or we were going to lose.”
The Vikings tried a 1-3-1, 1-2-2 and matchup-zone defenses before settling on man-to-man to try to stop the Bruins.
It took until the fourth quarter, when the Vikings opened with the first eight points to start at 19-1 run, before the expected happened.
“We had too many fouls,” said Neah Bay point guard Chuck Halttunen, who made most of the spectacular - and forced - passes. “They made all the free throws, and we didn’t make enough.”
Gar-Pal plays Ritzville, a 73-59 winner over Wahkiakum at 5 p.m. today. The game time was changed to accommodate the Vikings fans, who have a girls game at 3:30. The 3:30 boys quarterfinal will match Valley Christian and defending state champion Waterville. Unbeaten VC defeated Mossyrock 71-49 and the Shockers beat Quilcene 57-44.
Slicing up the Gar-Pal defense, Neah Bay opened a 20-13 lead with layups. The Vikings tied it at 20 by the end of the quarter as part of a six-turnover, 11-0 run, but Neah Bay weathered that. The race-horse game continued to the half with the Red Devils earning a 40-40 tie despite 14 Neah turnovers.
The Red Devils hit 16 of 28 shots in the first half.
“Their style is to come out and play that way, take the ball to the hole and then dish. They were like that in ‘86 when I played them and they haven’t changed,” Coles said. “We like to run and take the ball at people. We had to stop penetration and have other guys jump in the passing lane. That’s what we did in the second half.”
A 9-2 surge in the third quarter put Gar-Pal up 59-50, but the Red Devils got six quick points in the final minute to stay in the game.
Then the turnovers caught up. The Vikings were 15 of 21 from the foul line in the fourth quarter and the Red Devils coughed up the ball five times at the start and made just 2 of 8 free throws.
Kimble hit 12 of 18 shots, including 3 of 4 3-pointers and 11 of 14 free throws. He left the game early but came back late trying to get two more points to reach 40. However, his only shot was an air ball.
For the game, Gar Pal hit 26 of 35 from the line to just 6 of 18 for Neah Bay. The Red Devils had 19 offensive rebounds but also had 26 turnovers, giving Jason Fox, who had 18 points for the Vikings, six steals to go with his eight rebounds.
“I knew how good we were coming together at the end of the season,” Neah Bay’s acting head coach Nick Brunk said. “I still don’t think anyone is better than us but this is one of the best B teams we’ve seen this year. What surprised me is that they ran.”
Brunk said the adjustment from making suggestions to making decisions was smooth.
“I’ve worked with Ron for two years and played for him three years and we’ve been over here twice,” he said. “I’m excited, just like the players.”
On Feb. 22, Johnson, who began coaching at Neah Bay in 1976 and had heart bypass surgery 10 years ago, had his annual physical and passed out after completing a treadmill test, his son Duane said. He coached two games last weekend with his doctor’s approval.