“North routs Klahowya 76-38. POULSBO – Don’t be fooled by the box score, North Kitsap basketball coach Bob Fronk said after Friday night’s game. Sure, his team had just handed Klahowya a 76-38 loss. But numbers can lie, Fronk said. If you look at the stat sheet, we have a big margin (of victory), Fronk said, but we can play better. The Vikings, who led by 7 at the half, could have played better and with more effort, Fronk believes. But part of the reason why is the winter break, which saw the players go two weeks without facing anyone other than their teammates in practice. The kids were rusty, but I wanted to see better effort, Fronk said. It took three quarters to get us unwound. Still, the Vikings scored the first basket of the game on a Marc McNall three-pointer and never lost the lead. They led 15-8 at the end of the first, a quarter that saw Vikings take advantage of several Klahowya turnovers. Josh Mathews stole the ball and passed ahead to McNall for a layup; Mathews stole the ball again seconds later, and when his layup hopped off the rim, Jerrod Gonzales was there to shovel the ball into the hoop. But Mathews wasn’t the only Viking with an eye for theft in the first; Gonzales got a steal of his own, as did McNall. The Vikings were on their way to scoring 23 points off turnovers (compared to only 2 points for Klahowya). The trend continued in the second quarter, with McNall garnering a steal to begin the series. But the rout wasn’t on yet. Klahowya fought back and stayed in the game, with much of the effort coming from guard Eddie Bullock. Bullock drove and hit a scoop in the second quarter, then scored on a drive just a moment later. Reid Ammann of North Kitsap answered with a jumper, then pushed the ball ahead to Mathews to give North a six-point lead, 24-18. But Klahowya stayed close, again with Bullock’s help as he banked a three-pointer in just before the end of the first half. As the first half ended North led 32-25. There would be no comeback for the Eagles, as the Vikings took advantage of more turnovers to stretch the lead. They also got help off the bench from Tanner Huget, who had his best game of the season. Huget scored 11 points, 9 of them from outside the arc, and later coach Fronk said, Tanner had a very good game. He was very important coming off the bench. The Vikings sped away from the 1-8 Eagles as the game closed, with both Huget and McNall dropping three-pointers, Bryan Haupt shooting a jumper, and Josh Mathews hitting a layup as the seconds ticked down. North doubled up Klahowya, winning by a 76-38 score. McNall led North Kitsap with 17, and was one of five Vikings in double digits; Mathews had 13, Huget and Clint Thomas each had 11, and Jerrod Gonzales added 10 points. The Eagles were led in scoring by junior guard Jordan Coursey, who had 11. Ben Salo had 8 and Bullock added 7. The Vikings got 22 points off the bench in the win, which elevated their record to 5-3 overall, 4-2 in league. Fronk wishes there had been more effort, but said, This was a good game for us to get the cobwebs out. (North Kitsap – McNall 17, Mathews 13, Thomas 11, Huget 11, Gonzales 10, Cari 6, Ammann 4, Haupt 3, Jordan 1) (Klahowya – Coursey 11, Salo 6, Bullock 7, Matty 6, Tyree 3, McMaster 2, Isai 1) “