TACOMA – North Kitsap has shot its way to the boys basketball Class 2A West Central District championship game Feb. 17 in Fife.

Behind an incredible performance from Zac Olmsted, who dropped 28 points, and a jaw-dropping 55-percent team effort from beyond the arc, the Vikings blitzed their way past Renton, 73-66, and into the finals.

North Kitsap went 11-for-20 from the 3-point line, hitting eight in the first half, and Olmsted was the embodiment of that hot shooting, scoring 22. The senior point guard simply couldn’t miss as he willed his team out to a 10-point lead at the break.

“He had an amazing first half,” North Kitsap head coach Scott Orness said. “He was able to create after they started double-teaming him and he was making things happen for other guys.”

But Olmsted was far from alone on the floor. Junior sharpshooter Connor King scored 12 points, hitting a torrid 4-for-5 on his 3-point attempts, three of them coming in the first half. Unheralded big man Derek Zinn, who averaged 4.9 points per game in the regular season, also hit a pair of threes and finished with eight.

“The way these guys responded and answered is really impressive,” Orness said. “I haven’t had a lot of teams that have been able to do that. So I think it shows the level of senior leadership we have as well as our toughness overall.”

It wasn’t all smooth sailing, however. The Indians came out hot in the second half, led by senior wing Romero Otero, who finished with 12 points and hit a pair of layups to quickly close the gap to six, and Jaloni Gardner, who finished with a team-high 23.

The Renton defense also began double-teaming Olmsted whenever North Kitsap got into its half-court offense.

“That’s when our big-time players came out,” Olmsted said.

Deondre Russ gave Renton a 61-60 lead early in the fourth quarter, setting the table for a wild finish.

But a 6-0 run put the Vikings back in charge. Logan Chmielewski, who scored nine points in the contest, drove the lane with a beautiful layup to restore the Vikings’ lead. Ryan Hecker and Olmsted then followed with a pair of jumpers.

Gardner hit the front end of a 1-and-1 for the Indians and the deficit was cut to two.

After he missed the second shot, North Kitsap came down with the rebound. Renton put on a ferocious press, but the Vikings escaped and got the ball to a wide-open Hecker, who hit a 3-pointer from the right wing, the dagger the Vikings needed to ice the game. Hecker finished with 11.

“Our guys were ready and they stepped up,” Olmsted said. “That’s a huge win. That’s a good team out there and we took it to them.”

North Kitsap will play for the district championship on Feb. 17 at 2 p.m. at Wilson High School against Fife, which pulled a dramatic upset against top-seeded Foss in the other semifinal game.

North Kitsap 73, Renton 66

RE 19 18 20 9 – 66

NK 24 23 13 13 – 73

Renton (66) – Garner 23, Otero 12, Russ 11, Jimerson 10, Williams 6, Jackson 2, Locke 2.

North Kitsap (73) – Olmsted 28, King 12, Hecker 11, Chmielewski 9, Zinn 8, Warren 3, Humphrey 2.

– Mark Krulish is a reporter for Kitsap News Group. He can be reached at mkrulish@soundpublishing.com