North Kitsap boys basketball blasts Bremerton, clinches 10th straight Olympic League crown
It was a dominant performance by North Kitsap's boys basketball team, putting the finishing touches on a dominant run in the Olympic League 2A over the past decade.
North Kitsap's 74-38 road win at Bremerton on Friday secured the Vikings' 10th consecutive league title dating back to the 2014-15 season, the team's final campaign under Dan Rosenberg. Over the past nine years under head coach Scott Orness, the Vikings have won either a share of the league title or claimed it outright.
"I feel our guys are really locked in," said Orness, whose team is 16-3 overall and 12-0 in league play heading into next week. North Kitsap plays road games against Olympic on Monday and North Mason on Tuesday to wrap up the regular season.
Junior Jordan Williams led North Kitsap with 18 points and was one of four players to finish with double-figures. The others were seniors Harry Davies (17), Cade Orness (16) and Mason Chmielewski (10).
Much like the first game between North Kitsap and Bremerton in early January, a 70-44 win for the Vikings, the first quarter featured a slow start offensively for both squads. The Vikings led 11-4 after eight minutes, then went on a 12-3 run to begin the second quarter, opening up a 23-7 advantage. Bremerton (15-3, 9-3) found no easy buckets while trying to find openings against North Kitsap's pressure man defense.
"It's hard for teams to run anything against us," Scott Orness said.
North Kitsap led 34-15 at halftime, 66-32 through three quarters and triggered a running clock (40-point margin) with 3:14 to go in the fourth quarter.
Ranked No. 1 in the latest Associated Press 2A poll, North Kitsap expects to be a title contender once the state tournament begins in Yakima later this month. The road to the SunDome starts with district tournament play on Feb. 13. The Vikings will open district action at home with a shot to clinch a regional berth with a victory.
"The regular season is great for us," Cade Orness said, "but we're just warming up right now."
Freshman Jalin Davis scored 28 points for Bremerton, but the Knights' four other starters failed to score a single field goal.
"That's tough," Bremerton head coach Miah Davis said.
Like North Kitsap, Bremerton has already clinched a district tournament berth. The question for the Knights is what seed they'll be. They are tied with Port Angeles for second place in the Olympic League standings with three losses apiece. The Roughriders host the Knights on Feb. 8 with runner-up league status on the line.
Miah Davis planned to give his team the weekend off before its next game, on the road at Kingston on Tuesday. The head coach doesn't want Friday's defeat to linger, knowing there are important games ahead.
"They have to really reset," Davis said.
This article originally appeared on Kitsap Sun: NK boys hoops blasts Bremerton, clinches 10th straight league crown
