The Bremerton High School boys basketball team’s winningest season in 11 years ended sooner than the players would have wanted.

But the lesson learned by younger players will benefit the team in the future, coach Casey Lindberg said.

The Knights, playing their second game in as many days, were eliminated from the Class 3A state tournament Thursday in a 71-55 loss to Spokane’s North Central High School at the Tacoma Dome.

Saying the team was physically drained after a 67-63 loss Wednesday to second-ranked Rainier Beach High School, Lindberg didn’t fault his team’s effort.

“We spent a lot of energy playing Rainier Beach,” Lindberg said. “North Central was big and disciplined and they played with a little more energy than us.”

After falling behind 16-10 after the first quarter, Bremerton couldn’t get on track. Lindberg said the Knights struggled to contain Lucas Evans, a 6-foot-9-inch center who scored 18 points.

Despite the lopsided loss, Lindberg was proud of his team’s effort on the season, capped by a berth to state.

“It’s a big deal,” he said. “This gives the younger guys a little taste of what they could potentially achieve themselves.”

It was Bremerton’s winningest season since 1999, when it placed fifth at state in Lindberg’s first season.

The Knights (16-9) won the Olympic League regular-season championship and advanced to the district tournament as a No. 1 seed. The team rebounded from back-to-back losses against Sequim High School and Kingston High School in January, winning eight straight games to close the regular season.

Then the Knights’ leading scorer, Jarell Flora, verbally committed to Seattle University the same day the team clinched a berth to state.

“Some years you don’t quite get what you want out of your team, but then there are other years when it feels like you get everything out of them,” Lindberg said. “We got everything out of these guys this year.”