POULSBO — Shelton (0-3, 0-8) and North Kitsap (1-2, 3-5) were searching for points from the same place Wednesday night, behind the arch. But when the shots ceased to fall and the offenses began to lull, North’s defense provided the spark it needed to capture its first league win.

Chris Zeringer once again highlighted North’s performance with 22 points — the game was the third consecutive game in which he’s scored 20 or more points — coming through in a big way for the Vikes now that his ankle is back at full strength.

“He’s doing what I expected him to do,” coach Derek Anderson said of Zeringer. “It’s like having your quarterback out there — when he’s in the game, everybody is a lot calmer.”

As a senior, Zeringer has taken the reins of late as he led North to two wins at the Holiday Open in Camas with MVP worthy performances during the last week of December. Wednesday night, he was back at it again.

Following a slow start for the Vikings, Shelton went on a mid-quarter six-point run to take the 12-6 lead. Then NK’s defense led a charge in retaliation.

The NK front court defense hassled Shelton’s guards all night, creating havoc.

And at the end of the first quarter, two Zeringer steals paved the way for a purple run that ended the quarter in a 17-17 tie.

From the gates of the second quarter, Zeringer continued to push the Vikings forward. Within the first two minutes of the quarter, he’d scored seven points and racked up a block and a steal on defense; nearly single-handedly distancing North to a 24-17 lead.

Then the game relaxed to slow-motion.

Shelton’s offense — consisting of jump shots — was stopped at the rim, but offensive rebounds allowed the Highclimbers a track back into the game, 22-24, midway through the second. North, on the other end, had settled down into a spread offense that came to a near standstill.

That is, until a Kevin Masnayon steal stoked the Vikes’ fire. The defensive play provided just enough offense for NK to squeak out of the first half with a 30-24 lead.

The Vikes came out of the locker-room with straight faces, and Shelton pounced. Andrew Boykin pilfered the ball and raced down court to open the half with a Highclimber dunk.

Masnayon answered with a 3-pointer to keep the Vikes ahead, 33-26.

“I think at times they were playing not to lose, and you can’t do that,” Anderson said, adding that the Vikes’ strongest portion of the game came at the end of the fourth quarter when he could tell the team was playing to win.

North’s offense relied on the fate of three pointers, as both teams were picking and choosing their shots in the third quarter. North sunk just enough triples to hang on to a 42-39 lead into the fourth quarter despite a late burst from Shelton’s high-energy defense.

In the final frame, North’s killer instinct prevailed, as Dietrich Rios steered the Viking ship to victory, scoring the bulk of his total 19 points. He, Zeringer and Masnayon each sunk two free-throws to keep the game out of reach in the waning minutes and ending at a count of 59-49.

The game marked the Vikes’ first conference win but there is much work to be done from here, Anderson said.

“Every game from now on is like a championship for us,” he added.

Next up, the first North/South game of the season will be Jan. 11 in South Kitsap.