The Forks boys basketball team went to Port Angeles and participated in the annual Peninsula Basketball Jamboree with Chimacum, Port Townsend and host Port Angeles. Forks squared off in the first 10-minute game with Port Townsend that ended in a 13-13 tie. Since it was a jamboree, there was no overtime situation.

The next game was versus host Port Angeles Roughriders who are coached by Forks High all-time leading scorer Kasey Ulin. Both teams battled and Forks finished the 10-minute quarter winning 24-14.

“I was really happy with what I saw from our guys as far as transition offense and coming out and responding to a varsity game atmosphere” head coach Rick Gooding.

 

 

Tuesday Dec. 1

Forks opened up the season at home versus the North Beach Hyaks. It was a non-league season opener for both teams. North Beach hed coach Larry Moore and Forks coach Rick Gooding both agreed you could tell it was the first game of the year as there wasn’t a point scored for the first two minutes of the contest.

The game was back and forth with several lead changes but North Beach’s Austin Perez slipped in the game-winning shot with three seconds to play to knock off Forks 66-64.

Forks went into halftime with a 29-26 lead but were outscored by 10 in the third quarter and went into the fourth quarter down by 7 points.

Forks rallied back and had the best quarter of the game scoring 23 points and taking the lead back in the fourth quarter.

“Going into the fourth, I wasn’t sure how are guys would react. I thought maybe North Beach might keep pulling away. But our guys responded, came out and played like Spartans and took the lead back. Unfortunately, we didn’t execute like we wanted to on the last couple of possessions, but that is where we have to use these games as a learning experience and grow to get better.”

Spartans were led by 6’8” junior center Marky Adams who had 22 points on 11-15 shooting from the field and 21 rebounds. “Marky has worked so hard to get to the level he is at right now. The improvements he has made since his freshman year are a testament to the work he has put in,” Gooding said.

Spartans also in double figures were junior wing Parker Browning with 18 points and freshman wing Cort Prose who chipped in 12 points in his first ever varsity action.

“I know everyone likes to look at who scored in the ball game to see who played well, but to me I am always looking at who blocked out and our defensive rotations,” Gooding said. Gooding gave credit to sophomore forward Cole Baysinger and junior forward Keishaun Ramsey for having to play minutes at both post and guard position.

Lone senior post Austin Pegram provided some valuable minutes and junior wing Carlos Tejano came off the bench and did some good things for the Spartans as well. “Carlos can be a spark plug for sure. He can help us do a lot of things. He does a good job at defensive rotations and trying to find a body to block out.”

Also putting in valuable minutes was junior point guard Jeffrey Schumack. He has missed the majority of the last two seasons due to injury but has worked hard and is one of the leaders on the Spartan basketball team. Schumack led the team with four assists.

Swing players Scott Archibald and Seth Johnson rounded out the Spartans lineup.

“We hate to lose games, but the only way we get defeated is if we don’t learn from losses. We gave up 18 offensive rebounds and turned the ball over 21 times against a pretty good North Beach team and took the game to the wire and lost on a last-second shot. If we tighten some things up and continue to improve, I think we will be just fine. This group of guys has some fight in them and I know we are going to see some great improvements this year,” Gooding said.

Forks played Tuesday, Dec. 8, against Rochester at FHS and will play Friday, Dec. 11, at Elma.

 

 

1 2 3 4 Total

North Beach Hyaks 15 11 22 18 66

Forks Spartans 14 15 12 23 64

Schumack 4, Ramsey 2, C. Baysinger 3, Pegram, Tejano 3, Browning 18, Prose 12, Adams 22, Archibald

 

 

The Spartan JV also were in action and lost their opener to North Beach 55-52. This was many of the Spartans first competitive action at the high school level. The team was led by junior post Scott Archibald and freshmen guards Seth Johnson and Brandon Baar.

 

“Brandon was able to get open and hit a few shots in the second half. Seth made some much needed free throws and Race Decker came up with some great defensive plays,” JV coach Keith Weekes said. Weekes also commented that first-year player Austin Flores, who is a sophomore post, really started to show what he could be capable of in becoming a strong player in the paint.

“Overall, we didn’t play near our best or what we can be capable of and we still had multiple chances to get the win, we just let it slip away at the end. If we can clean up all the little things, this season can be a promising one for the JV program,” Weekes said.