UNIVERSITY PLACE — The amazing run continues for the Vikings.
What was a physical, helter skelter foul-laden game for three quarters turned into a track meet, and some clutch fourth quarter shooting lifted them into the district championship game.
With about three minutes to go in the fourth quarter, trailing by four, Kobe McMillian pulled North Kitsap within one with his fourth 3-pointer of the game. On the next possession, Shaa Humphrey put them in the lead, 42-40, with a 3-pointer from the left wing. Bobby Siebers followed up with a pair of threes from the left baseline and Logan Chmielewski closed the 14-4 run with a layup after grabbing an offensive rebound.
Humphrey then closed the door, hitting five of his final six free throw attempts to give the Vikings a 57-49 win over Renton in the West Central District III 2A semifinals for the second consecutive year; though this year’s game was a far cry from last season’s 73-66 offensive slugfest.
North Kitsap plays at 4 p.m. on Saturday at Curtis High School for the championship against Franklin Pierce.
“It’s crazy,” Humphrey said of his team’s playoff run. “It’s fun. We were down, but we never got our heads down and we stayed confident.”
The Vikings trailed 19-11 after one quarter and had already racked up six fouls. McMillian had started hot with three 3-pointers, but soon ran into foul trouble, as did Humphrey. But that opened the door for other players to step up.
Freshman Jonas La Tour stepped onto the floor and hit a big 3-pointer in the second quarter. Siebers, after missing on his early 3-point attempts, adjusted his game and knocked down a pair of short jumpers to help get his team back into the game. North Kitsap trailed by two at the break.
“It was a game that had a lot of different types of basketball,” head coach Scott Orness said. “We were on our heels to start with, we weren’t used to that speed and quickness and we finally settled in and started playing some good ball in the second quarter.”
McMillian led North Kitsap with 16 and also picked up six assists. Humphrey finished with 15 and Chmielewski added eight points and 11 rebounds. Siebers chipped in 11 points and Jamo Moore had six offensive rebounds and eight in total.
North Kitsap 57, Renton 49
RE 19 7 10 13 — 49
NK 11 13 10 23 — 57
Renton (49) — Barquet 17, Williams 14, Meneese 7, Jackson 5, Jamerson 3, Ervin 2.
North Kitsap (57) — McMillian 16, Humphrey 15, Siebers 11, Chmielewski 8, La Tour 7.
— Mark Krulish is a reporter for Kitsap News Group. He can be reached at mkrulish@soundpublishing.com. Follow him on Twitter @MKrulishKDN.
Shaa Humphrey scored 15 points in North Kitsap’s win over Renton, including a 5 for 6 performance from the free throw line in the final two minutes of the game. (Mark Krulish/Kitsap News Group)
