Riley Newman struck first but Archbishop Murphy High School had the last say in a 65-43 loss for Newman and the Falcons.

With the number one spot at stake, the second-ranked Wildcats came into the Falcons’ Erikson Gym and claimed it emphatically.

“Archbishop came, played hard, played together, played a total game and moved the ball around like a real team should,” said Falcon head coach Henry Pope. “We got very predictable, we got very one-dimensional and to be honest with you, they played harder than we did.”

Pope added: “I shouldn’t say harder, they played harder with a lot more discipline.”

South Whidbey entered the night 10-3 overall and on a 10-game winning streak that stretched back to Dec. 4, and included six Cascade Conference wins for a 6-0 conference record. Archbishop Murphy (6-1; 8-4) was riding a three-game winning streak against conference foes Sultan, King’s and Lakewood in which it hadn’t beaten a team by more than eight points.

Senior forward Tyler “Chuck” Norris set South Whidbey’s defensive presence early with a block that led to Newman knocking down a jumper and the first points of the game.

Wildcat starting forward Sam Shober hit 1-of-2 free throws to interrupt the Falcons’ run.

TJ Russell connected on two free throws after being fouled by Wildcat point guard Paris Felder on a drive to the basket. Then Newman, a senior guard, hit two more free throws after being fouled on a drive to put South Whidbey ahead, 6-1. It was the largest lead South Whidbey had during the night.

“They [the Falcons] had an off night shooting, but our ball protection and distribution was pretty bad,” Pope said. “I think our nervousness showed, especially that first quarter we were just playing too nervous.”

Then the Wildcats went on an 8-0 run to put South Whidbey down 9-6. Newman stifled the momentum shift with a three-pointer and a three-pointer salute to the crowd. Senior forward Austin Bennett intercepted a pass and tossed it to Newman as he streaked toward the basket and was fouled, then he made 1-of-2 free throws to retake the lead — South Whidbey’s last lead of the game.

After receiving his third foul, Newman sat out the closing minutes of the first quarter and the start of the second quarter. He finished with a game-high 23 points.

Norris hit 1-of-2 free throws to break a 9-0 run by the Wildcats in the second quarter. Senior co-captain Ben Cary blocked Anker Anderson’s three-point attempt, but the Falcons couldn’t grab the loose ball and Anderson drove for a layup, 18-11.

“We got beat in every aspect of it [this game]: defensive rebounds, offensive rebounds, transition, ball protection, shot selection, execution, you name it,” Pope said. “If you lose all those battles, you’re going to lose a game.”

Meanwhile, Newman watched the Wildcats bust out on a 14-3 run before scoring in the second quarter on both free throws from a single-bonus foul to cut Archbishop’s lead to 23-15. Even with Felder on the bench with three fouls, the top two conference teams traded baskets, and South Whidbey couldn’t close the gap before halftime and went into the locker room down 32-23.

“I thought it was a true commitment to team defense,” said first-year Wildcat head coach Jamar Williams. “Obviously they have a couple guys you have to key on, but I think all five of our guys were pretty much connected out there.”

Added Williams: “They just had a bad shooting night, the ball was in and out a few times. I know it wasn’t totally on our defense, but luck came on our side today.”

Archbishop Murphy broke open the game on Zach Smith’s two free throws to reestablish a double-digit Wildcat lead, 34-23. Felder stole a pass and drove for a layup (he finished with a team-high 17 points). Then Wildcat junior center Zach Gordon stamped the exclamation point on the game with a breakaway two-hand jam that put Archbishop ahead, 41-23.

Newman tried to spark the Falcon offense with back-to-back baskets, including a three-pointer. Bennett grabbed consecutive defensive rebounds against the 6-foot-7 Gordon that translated into a free throw from senior Sean George and a baseline layup by Newman that cut the Wildcats’ lead to 12.

In the fourth quarter, the Wildcats extended the lead on scoreless drives by the Falcons, who didn’t get calls as they drove to the hoop and found contact. Archbishop padded its lead by four points on free throws from a foul and a technical foul that put the score at 58-37 and put Newman on the bench with five fouls.

With Newman out, the Falcons looked to force the issue and made turnovers.

“We didn’t really run any offensive plays — that’s kind of my job to set up the offense, and I didn’t do a very good job of that,” Russell said.

Russell made 1-of-2 free throws, Bennett drained a three-point shot and deep reserve senior Matt Flaherty hit a layup to close out South Whidbey’s scoring before Wildcat Ted Baird hit the last shot of the game, 65-43.

“We’re a way better team than this,” Russell said. “We’re all frustrated, especially at a home loss like this. It was frustrating losing to these guys, because they’re beatable.”

Limiting second-chance points and grabbing defensive rebounds was an issue for the Falcons earlier in the season and resurfaced against a tall, physical Archbishop team, though South Whidbey’s coach felt everything went wrong for his team.

“This was one of those games where we didn’t have too much going on tonight,” Pope said. “Archbishop came ready to play. We were, I think, kind of patting ourselves on the back after this great run we’ve had. But the bottom line is, [the] run’s over.”