BELFAIR — The official Olympic League 2A boys basketball title shared between the North Kitsap Vikings (16-4 overall, 10-2 league) and the Olympic Trojans (14-6 overall, 10-2 league) is no longer precisely equal.
In a contest between classic rivals vying for top seed in the upcoming West Central 2A district playoffs, Viking steel prevailed over the Trojan phalanx, 57-48, Feb. 6 in the North Mason Bulldogs’ gym.
The game didn’t start well for the Vikings. The Trojans quickly picked up nine unanswered points after the jump and steadily controlled the first half with an aggressive defense for a 35-24 lead.
“We weren’t very efficient in the first half,” North Kitsap head coach Scott Orness said. “Olympic was really physical and they were able to hold back Cole Rabedeaux. They put a lot of pressure on him. We were playing on our heels and we knew we had to come back more aggressively and attack.”
Viking fans, undeterred by the drive to Belfair, remained optimistic at half time.
“We’re not panicking, [we] have faith in our team,” Viking fan John Bower said. “We’re within striking distance. They will come out calmer and get back in the game.”
Being more aggressive and getting back in the game was easier said than done for the Vikings. Eight minutes into the third period, the Trojans seemed confident at 45-33 but the margin had barely changed. Momentum was building but the tipping point wasn’t clear until the tail end of the quarter. As it turned out, the measure between the Vikings wanting to win and knowing they could was over only a few feet and just two seconds long.
“I called a time out with 2.4 seconds on the clock and we talked about it,” Orness said. “Jarrod Felix passed to Cole who put it in for two, bringing the score to 41-45 at the buzzer. That was a big change for us emotionally. Everything changed.”
In the fourth quarter, a stepped-up Viking defense held the stunned Trojans to 3 points and created more opportunity for the Viking offense to find the basket. Rabedeaux (10), who had been contained in the first half, broke out to score 12 of his 19 game points in the final period. Sophomore Zac Olmsted (0) and senior Joshua Benson (24) shared second spot honors with 13 total points each.
“I am very proud of this team and their resilience to come back and outscore Olympic 16-3 in the fourth quarter,” Orness said. “Devin Huff is a great coach and I have no doubt they will rebound and be very tough in the playoffs.”
Trojan seniors Mikhail Hayes (21) and Jumier Johnson (15) led their team in scoring with 18 and 15 points respectively.
“When it was time to put it away, we didn’t,” Olympic head coach Huff said. “We had three quarters and then we lost our poise — we lost our confidence. We opened up the first half fairly well. We knew we had to defend the three point shot because North is good at that. But in the fourth quarter we couldn’t score and North deserves a lot of credit. They did what they needed to do.”
Commenting on the loss and the overall impact returning to state competition, Huff said, “We went into the district playoffs number two last year and did extraordinarily well. We’ll practice and be ready on Wednesday.”
The West Central 2A boys basketball tournament began Feb. 10. The No. 1 seed Vikings hosted the Washington Patriots at 7 p.m. The Trojans hosted the Clover Park Warriors.
