“North clamps down on BI in fourth quarter. POULSBO – The North Kitsap High School boys’ basketball team defeated Bainbridge Island Friday night 52-43. Afterwards, Bainbridge Coach Jeff Eller saw some good signs: his team out rebounding North 32-12, for example. We played great defense, Eller said. We held a team averaging in the mid-70s to 52 points. But the Spartans could not prevent North Kitsap from winning the game. Most of North’s firepower came from the backcourt, which outscored the Spartans’ guards 43-8. Marc McNall led the way with 18, Jerrod Gonzales added 15, and Josh Mathews had 10. But the game was far from easy for the Vikings. After a first half that saw Marc McNall drain a jumper and two three-pointers, North went into the locker room with a scant 27-25 lead. Bainbridge and North traded baskets in the third, with the teams knotting briefly at 35 on a Adam Brenneman basket. But McNall’s only second-half field goal, a three-pointer, put the team ahead 38-37 as the third quarter ended. In the fourth, the Vikings clamped down on the Spartans, and the Spartans began sending the Vikings to the line. McNall buried 5 of 6 and Jerrod Gonzalez had 2 free throws of his own to put the game away. The win elevated North’s record to 7-3 overall, 6-2 in league. Bainbridge dropped to 6-6 overall, 5-3 in league. Sequim, with a stellar 8-0 record in league, is in first place. (Jim Whiting of the Bainbridge Island Review contributed to this story.) “