With all ties settled and the brackets filled in, it’s finally time to get at a look at each team’s road to the Yakima SunDome or the Tacoma Dome.
So far nine Kitsap basketball teams have qualified for their respective district tournament, so it’s going to be a busy couple of weeks for hoops.
The Olympic boys finished their season on a high note, beating North Mason, Bremerton, Sequim and Kingston on the back half of their league schedule to force a tie for the fourth and final playoff spot. They then went up to Port Townsend on Saturday and beat Sequim, 59-47 to advance to the 2A West Central District III tournament where they will face Clover Park in the first round.
Malcolm Dewalt led the Trojans with 20 points and his team had built up a healthy 31-22 lead by halftime. Tyler Lindal had a big second quarter for Olympic, scoring eight of his 11 points and Caleb Erickson scored 12 of his 14 points in the first half.
Dewalt was the main man in the second half, getting 14 of his points in the third and fourth quarter. Sequim got to within six points with 4:30 to go, but the Trojans defense held them off for the win.
That puts them into the 2A boys tournament along with Bremerton and North Kitsap, the latter of which won the league championship with a blowout win over North Mason last Thursday. They will get a bye through the first round and play a winner-to-state game on Saturday, Feb. 15 in Poulsbo.
Bremerton’s first district game is at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 13 at Renton.
In 3A, Central Kitsap has the chance to bypass the first round with a win over Lincoln on Tuesday evening at Washington High School in Tacoma. If the Cougars are successful, they too would get a Saturday night home game against either Prairie or the winner of the Stadium/Timberline game. If they lose to the Abes, they play Peninsula in the first round at home on Feb. 13.
The South Kitsap boys enter the 4A district tournament as the No. 5 seed after a loss to Rogers in a tiebreaker game on Saturday. They have a pigtail loser-out game tonight at Graham-Kapowsin High School against Todd Beamer. A win gives them a matchup at Kentwood on Feb. 12 at 7 p.m.
The 1A West Central District III tournament gets going a little later than the others. Klahowya, as the Olympic League’s No. 1 seed, will face Vashon Island at 6 p.m. on Feb. 18 at South Kitsap High School. The Klahowya girls play Cascade Christian at 5 p.m. on Feb. 17, also at South Kitsap.
Speaking of the girls, North Kitsap and Kingston both qualified for their 2A district tournament via their respective third and fourth place finishes in the Olympic League. Both teams begin play on the road at 7 p.m. Wednesday night. Kingston heads to Franklin Pierce while North Kitsap travels to Washington.
