Community Sports
Tides win state opener before running into a Bearcat buzzsaw
Gig Harbor (18-13) finished one win short of the Tacoma Dome, defeating North Central of Spokane, 71-56, on Feb. 25 before falling to Monroe (21-3), 62-33, on Feb. 28.
Both were Class 3A state tournament regional round games. The Tides would have earned a spot in the final 12 of the tourney, and the accompanying trip to Tacoma, had they been able to defeat Monroe.
Stars come out in North Central game
The win over North Central was Gig Harbor’s fifth in its past six games, with the only loss being a one-point defeat to district tournament top seed Auburn Mountainview.
The North Central Wolves came in to Tuesday’s game with some star power. They featured Makai Daniels, a 6- foot-6 center who averaged 20.7 points per game and 10.1 rebounds. They are also coached by Robert Sacre, who played four seasons for the Los Angeles Lakers after starring at Gonzaga University.
The Tides countered with 6-foot-8 center Michael Masini, who scored 35 points against the Wolves.
North Central employed a pesky full-court press, but Gig Harbor handled it. It helps when your center can put it on the deck and finish at the rim. Masini scored eight points in the opening quarter as the Wolves took off the press until later in the game.
Michael Masini scored 35 points for Gig Harbor in a state tournament win over North Central. Photo courtesy of Colton Bare
The Wolves, specifically Daniels, were scoring too. They were effective early against the Tides’ switching defense, slipping off high pick-and-roll plays for inside shots or kicking the ball out for three 3-point shots in a two-minute span early.
Senior guard Cole Browne put his shoulder into a defender on a physical take to the rim to tie the game at 13, but the Wolves closed out the quarter with a 5-0 run to take a 18-13 lead after one quarter.
The Wolves stretched the lead to 26-15 with two quick 3-pointers in the second quarter. It looked like the Wolves may pull away, but Browne and Masini led a Tides rally to close to within 26-24.
Meanwhile DJ Darling was doing his best Dennis Rodman impression for the Tides. He was playing lock-down defense, rebounding in traffic and flying all over the court while being content to shoot only wide-open shots.
With the Wolves’ defense chasing Masini on the perimeter, the Tides’ three guards attacked the middle. Quentin Bockhorn drained a 10-foot pull-up jumper, Ty Buchanan made a step-through bucket and got another on a coast-to-coast layup to keep the Tides within a point.
With six seconds to go in the half, Browne came off a screen and took Daniels to the hoop, making a circus shot as the buzzer to bring the Tides to within 36-34.
Sacre walked off the court upset that his Wolves, previously up by 13 points, had watched their lead evaporate to just two at intermission.
Cole Browne of Gig Harbor scores with two seconds to go in the half during the state win versus North Central. Photo courtesy of Colton Bare
Tides take over in second half
Masini and the Tides came out of halftime on fire. The center made a reverse layup and a 14-foot jumper to help Gig Harbor claim a 40-36 lead.
The Tides stretched to eight points at 44-36 when Browne, a senior with the most wins in program history, went to the bench with his fourth foul at the 3:58 mark of the third quarter.
After that, the Wolves outscored Gig Harbor 16-4 in just two and a half minutes to take a 52-48 lead.
With the Tides needing a bucket, coach Billy Landram brought Browne back in the lineup. He made two free throws to tie the game at 52 as the large crowd got back into the game at the end of the third quarter.
Masini opened the fourth quarter with another tough driving bucket and junior Jack Brown hit a huge 3-pointer that gave Gig Harbor the lead again at 56-54. Seconds later, it was Bockhorn’s turn to nail another huge 3-pointer from the other corner to take a 59-54 lead.
Masini scored the next six points for the Tides, the last on a pretty, three-dribble take to the rim with 3:53 to go that put the Tides up by seven points 65-56. Masini is quickly moving up the Gig Harbor scoring and rebounding list. He averages 20.7 points per game for his high school career.
The next possession, with 3:30 to go in the fourth quarter, sealed the game. The Tides showed growth from the Auburn Mountainview game, when they hurried shots and coughed up a late lead.
Gig Harbor worked the ball around and didn’t shoot until only four seconds remained on the shot clock. Browne got the offensive rebound and pulled it out to run the 30-second shot clock down again.
After another miss, Darling, who had seven offensive rebounds in the game, flew through the air while going out of bounds and backhanded an unbelievable pass to a teammate. Again they passed and ran clock. Gig Harbor took 1:07 off the clock before the Wolves got possession back with just over two minutes to go and down by nine points.
DJ Darling of Gig Harbor secures an offensive rebound in the fourth quarter of the win versus North Central. Photo courtesy of Colton Bare
“Landram told us straight out, this is not when we lose, this is not when we fold, we’re not going back to last game. This is where we turn up and that’s exactly what we did,” said Browne, who had 14 points and led his team in assists.
Masini stole the ball on the next North Central possession, forcing the Wolves to foul to stop the clock.
Masini, Buchanan and Bockhorn made multiple free throws to stretch the final score to 71-56.
“This is so exciting and another step to something bigger. It’s really fun to take care of business at home and the crowd was incredible,” Masini said.
Buchanan added 21 points to help the Tides advance.
“Tonight was fun,” Landram said. “I’m happy for the kids but to be honest, we have some pretty good players, we’re expecting this. We’re trying to get them to realize their potential level.”
“We had a lot of guys play great and Michael gets a lot of attention, which he should, but there were other guys that played well tonight, too. DJ Darling was fantastic tonight with second efforts, rebounds and defense. Cole Browne did a great job of playing with four fouls and we needed him for the last eight minutes of the game to play point guard and he was flawless. We have a lot of versatility, and the guys have a lot of confidence.”
Struggles vs. Monroe’s zone
The Tides season came to an end on Friday against a talented Monroe team at Arlington High School.
The Tides had few answers for the Bearcats’ swarming 2-3 zone defense, which shut down penetration and overplayed passing lanes for multiple steals to start the game.
Masini was whistled for three fouls in the first four minutes of the game, and the Tides couldn’t get anyone open for clean looks inside. That allowed the Monroe defense to shut down any perimeter shooting.
The Tides deserve credit for a outstanding late-season push that saw them squeeze every last drop of juice from the orange. But the state tournament can serve up the harsh reality of a resounding defeat and the talented Bearcats did that.
Masini led the Tides against Monroe with 12 points. Gig Harbor will return many of their starters in 2025-26 but will wave a sad goodbye to seniors Browne and Collin Nelson.