POULSBO — The lead changes in the hardwood battle between the North Kitsap and South Kitsap boys basketball teams was reminiscent of Washington’s tightly contested and often-disputed governor’s race.

It changed often, with the winner pulling out a razor-thin margin of victory.

But when time ran out, one team still stood undefeated and atop the Narrows’ Bridge league standings as number one.

Lead by junior Conner Gehring’s 23 points, the Wolves (10-0, 5-0 in league) scored 47 points in the second half, including a 12-2 run in the final three minutes of play to best the Vikings 79-69 before a packed North Kitsap gym Wednesday night.

South also added clout to their recent ranking of No. 3 in the state by knocking off the Vikings (7-3, 4-1 in league), who had its own seven-game win streak snapped. But Wolves coach John Callaghan said he knows that with the wins comes pressure.

“The bulls-eye’s getting bigger but I couldn’t be more proud of them,” Callaghan said of his players.

Following a three-pointer by North sophomore Mychal Harris, the teams were knotted up at 67 in the last 3:30 of the game. South, however, was able to keep North from running the floor and kept from giving the Vikings second chances off the glass. But the ultimate factor in the final minutes was that North’s shots didn’t fall — and South’s did.

“Offensively, we just stayed aggressive and defensively, we were just solid,” Callaghan said. “In the last four minutes, they missed some shots and we blocked out.”

“We struggled fundamentally down the stretch,” said NK head coach Aaron Nations. “We had them on the ropes a few times but (South) knows how to hang around.”

The lead changes were plentiful. South Kitsap held a 20-13 lead early on until North’s transition and inside games got going, taking a one-point advantage on a Ryan Young lay-in, 25-24.

“They were killing us on the putbacks and in transition,” Callaghan said.

NK held a 54-46 lead in the third but in about a minute and a half, South had stormed back taking a lead of its own, 56-55.

Though South squeaked out the win, Callaghan was quick to complement the Vikings as well as coach Nations, who has, in only his second season as Vikes’ coach, already surpassed the win total of his first season.

“They’re well coached and their guys are tough,” Callaghan said of North.

NK’s Jared Prince scored a season-high 18 points and grabbed 13 rebounds while Ryan Young had 18 points and 12 rebounds in the game. Sophomore Derek Burk and senior Derrick Webb scored 14 each for the Wolves while junior Josh Monagle added 11.

Nations said he remains optimistic about his team’s chances for success this season.

“We’d won seven in a row and lost one game to the best team in the league, No. 3 in the state,” he said. “We’ve come a long way. These guys are tough and they’ll rebound from this.”

North (7-3, 4-1 in league) will have an opportunity for revenge Feb. 4 when the Vikings travel to Port Orchard.