Patrick Lewis didn’t have to travel far to find basketball success at the next level.

The 2007 Bremerton grad, who is in his second and final year at Olympic College, is averaging seven points and seven rebounds through the first 12 games of the 2008-09 season.

Not only is coach Billy Landram impressed with Lewis’ individual play, but OC’s most loyal supporters may be hard-pressed to fathom the team’s 11-1 start.

The Rangers are currently in first place in the Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges (NWACC) North Division and hold the league’s best overall record thanks to Lewis and his supporting cast.

“He is extremely strong and quick for his position,” Landram said of Lewis. “He continues to improve over the course of the year on getting the small details into the game and executing our game plan.”

The 6-foot-4-inch Lewis, who was stronger and more physical than most of his former high school counterparts, continues to work on his outside shooting to become a well-rounded player.

“One thing he continues to work on is his shooting touch,” Landram said. “He does work on it, but those things tend to take time.”

And while Lewis doesn’t have the dominating physical presence he once had in high school, he continues to throw his body around and dive for loose balls.

“In high school, Pat was so much stronger than a lot of kids, so he was always in foul trouble. When he’d make moves on offense, the defenders would just fly off him because he was so strong,” Landram said. “Many of those same fouls aren’t called (at the college level) because the kids are so much bigger.”

The Rangers faced Peninsula on the road Wednesday, but results from that game were unavailable at press time. The team hosts Shoreline at 7 p.m. tomorrow.