POULSBO — Fate hasn’t been kind to the North Kitsap boys’ basketball team this season.
Luckily for the Vikings, it’s been just as hard on the their Narrows League rivals.
With North Kitsap, Bremerton, and Central Kitsap tied for the final playoff spot with two games left, Wednesday night’s games were crucial for one of the three teams to win and burst ahead of the others for the final postseason berth.
North appeared to be holding the short straw, as their opponent Wednesday was Gig Harbor, a team that had trounced North Kitsap when they met last month.
While CK didn’t have it any easier, facing South Kitsap, Bremerton was playing Olympic, a team that was winless in league.
Central predictably lost to the Wolves, but Bremerton surprisingly fell to the Trojans.
And North?
North again lost to the Tides, 71-41.
And while the Vikings may still have a shot at the postseason, head coach Bob Fronk said the team must turn around their play, fast, in order to be playing much longer.
“Right now, we’re totally playing out of sync offensively,” Fronk said.
He also had concerns about the defensive end of the floor, where the Vikings allowed a 21-point run across the first and second quarter and gave up 34 points to one player, Justin Allison, who hit 13 of his 18 shots , including three of his four three-point attempts, to scorch the Vikings.
While the Vikings clawed their way into the game for brief stretches, the 23-4 first quarter did them in.
“They’re playing with a lot of momentum,” Fronk said of the league-leading Tides.
Gig Harbor coach Lyle McIntosh said his team was ready to come out hot.
“For them, (NK) it was a chance to stay in the playoffs, so I thought they’d come out firing, really ready to come after us. That’s why we emphasized coming out with energy,” McIntosh said.
His team did just that, outscoring the Vikings 23-4 in the first quarter and 22-8 in the third.
They were led by the active Allison, who cut, slashed, and shot his way to a 34-point night. No other player scored more than eight.
The Vikings’ scoring was led by Bryan Haupt, who scored 20 and pulled down eight rebounds.
Jerrod Gonzales added 12 points.
Despite the loss, and the troubling statistics that came with it — 20 turnovers, a 37 percent shooting percentage from the field, a 43 percent shooting percentage from the line — the Vikings were still locked in place with CK and Bremerton going into Friday night’s game.
North Kitsap played Olympic, a team the Vikings defeated on Jan. 16. (The score was not available at deadline.)
Gig Harbor (71) Justin Allision 34, Bill Forelli 8, Brian Misterek 8, Grant Enloe 6, Troy Johnson 4, Jeremy Bryant 4, Joe Dacca 1.
North Kitsap (41) Bryan Haupt 20, Jerrod Gonzales 12, Devin Reed 4, Josh Mathews 2, Reid Ammann 2, Thomas Jordan 1).