River Ridge Ruins Peninsula’s Senior Basketball Night

Peninsula’s 10-point lead vanishes as the River Ridge Hawks outscore the Seahawks23-9 in the fourth to win 53-49.

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The Peninsula Seahawks boys basketball team was on a roll. Senior Isaac Schultz-Tait drove up the right side for a layup with 23 seconds left in the third quarter, capping a 15-4 run that gave his team a 40-30 lead heading into the fourth. 

Then the wheels started to wobble. The River Ridge Hawks stormed back with 23 points in the final quarter, including nine unanswered in the last 1:31, to pull off a 53-49 comeback and spoil senior night for Schultz-Tait, Carson Zimmermann, Wyatt Abrigo, and the rest of the Seahawks. 

Schultz-Tait and Zimmermann had 16 points apiece in their final outing at the Peninsula gymnasium Jan 27. Junior AJ Alexeev added 10 for the Seahawks. River Ridge sophomore Ryzen Nunez scored a game-high 22 points, nine of those coming in the fourth quarter.  

The Seahawks (6-13, 4-10 Puget Sound League) held the lead for most of the game but never by more than six points until midway through the third, when they went on an 8-0 run over 2:13 to take a 38-28 advantage. Though evenly matched in size, River Ridge (12-7, 7-7) controlled the boards, especially on the offensive end, but struggled on second-chance opportunities. Although half of River Ridge’s 19 baskets resulted from offensive put-backs, many others were missed. The other half of their made shots came in or near the paint. 

River Ridge took over in the fourth, opening with a 12-4 run that cut Peninsula’s lead to 44-42 with 3:13 left. The Seahawks briefly rebuilt a 49-44 cushion after Zimmermann hit one of two free throws following a technical foul on River Ridge coach Michael Crosby. But instead of slowing the pace and running down the clock, the Seahawks took rushed shots, giving River Ridge the chance to capitalize on their speed and transition game.  

With 30 seconds left, Peninsula sophomore Aiden Muilenburg fouled out and River Ridge junior Dominique Harper sank both free throws to make it 49-48. On the ensuing inbounds play, Schultz-Tait’s pass went straight to Nunez, who was positioned in front of Zimmermann. Nunez easily converted the turnover into a layup, putting the Hawks ahead 50-49 with 25 seconds to go.  

A free throw each from River Ridge’s Alex Jones, Harper and Nunez, combined with another Peninsula turnover, sealed the win for the Hawks. 

It could have been worse. The Seahawks sent River Ridge to the free-throw line 33 times, but the Hawks only converted 15.  

In a subtle highlight featuring all three Seahawks seniors, Abrigo tipped the ball away during a River Ridge possession early in the second quarter. Zimmermann scooped it up and, two seconds later, found Schultz-Tait for a fast-break layup that gave Peninsula a 15-11 lead. 

The Seahawks will close out the regular season this week on the road against the two teams battling for first place in the PSL-Nisqually Division. They’ll face Timberline on Wednesday and Lakes on Friday. North Thurston and River Ridge remain in contention for the division title, and Peninsula could play spoiler with an upset. However, even with a win or two, the Seahawks will finish fifth in the Nisqually Division, just ahead of Capital (4-13, 2-11). 


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