Regional round games set for this weekend

By Mark Krulish • February 24, 2020 10:00 am
Tags: , ,
The North Kitsap boys have already secured their place in Yakima and will play Tumwater this weekend with a first round state bye on the line. (Mark Krulish/Kitsap News Group)
The North Kitsap boys have already secured their place in Yakima and will play Tumwater this weekend with a first round state bye on the line. (Mark Krulish/Kitsap News Group)

The dust has settled on the districts tournaments in boys and girls basketball and Kitsap has four teams left standing.

The North Kitsap boys and girls teams along with the Central Kitsap boys and Chief Kitsap Academy boys have qualified for the regional round of the state tournament and will hit the hardwood this weekend for a chance to go to Yakima, the Tacoma Dome or Spokane.

Here’s a quick glimpse at the four matchups for this weekend.

(16) North Kitsap (girls) vs. (9) Black Hills, 8 p.m. Friday Feb. 28 at Tumwater

This is the only one of the four games that is actually a rematch from the regular season. The WIAA avoids league matchups during the regional selection process, but the Vikings took on Black Hills in a non-league game on Jan. 4. Black Hills won that game 60-59, so the history suggests another close contest. North Kitsap has been playing much better basketball as of late. After upsetting White River, they lost to Fife in the district semifinals, but then easily knocked off Franklin Pierce, 47-30 to finish third.

(3) North Kitsap (boys) vs. (6) Tumwater, 4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 29 at Mount Tahoma

Here’s a big bounce back opportunity for the Olympic League champions. The Vikings (20-3) lost the district championship game to Lindbergh, 62-54 this past weekend; but with a spot in the top eight, they’re guaranteed to reach Yakima, so their season continues on in Yakima no matter the outcome. This is a good opportunity to play a tight game against the District 4 champs — exactly the kind they will have to win at the SunDome next weekend in order to capture a championship.

(14) Central Kitsap vs. (11) Shorecrest, 4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 29 at Issaquah

One of the feel-good stories of the year, Central Kitsap (17-8) and its roster of mostly underclassmen have reached the state tournament for the first time since 2004. The Cougars survived a hairy game against Capital to get one of the final two seeds out of their tough district tournament and will take on Shorecrest, which finished second in the District 1 tournament and tied for third in the Wesco 3A, on Saturday at regionals. The winner heads on to the Tacoma Dome.

(14) Chief Kitsap Academy vs. (11) Garfield-Palouse, 4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 29 at University

The Bears (11-6) finished fourth in the 1B Tri-District tournament after a loss to Rainier Christian and will take a long trip to Spokane this weekend to take on Garfield-Palouse out of District 9. If they win, it’s another long trip for Chief Kitsap Academy across the state to the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena next week.

Tags: , ,