Thursday schedule is full of games with playoff implications for Kitsap teams

Kingston and Olympic face off for the final Olympic League 2A playoff spot while Klahowya tries to qualify in 1A with a win over Port Townsend

Thursday marks the end of the regular season for just about every basketball team in Kitsap, and while just about every team knows their postseason fate, there are still some things yet to be decided.

The North Kitsap boys and girls teams, and the Central Kitsap, Olympic, Klahowya and South Kitsap boys teams have all qualified for the playoffs, though some playoff seeds have not been determined.

The Central Kitsap boys have locked up third place in the South Sound Conference, while the South Kitsap boys can clinch fourth with a win over Puyallup on Thursday or a victory over Sumner on Friday. The Klahowya boys have clinched its Olympic League 1A title, and the Olympic boys will finish fourth in the Olympic League 2A.

Then there are the three Kitsap teams vying for postseason spots in de facto playoff games Thursday evening.

Olympic (5-6, 8-11) at Kingston (5-6, 9-10), 7 p.m.

The Trojans and the Buccaneers are both 5-6 in league play heading into their regular season finale. Olympic pulled off an upset Tuesday over Sequim while Kingston couldn’t get by its rival North Kitsap.

The winner of the game joins Port Angeles, North Kitsap and Sequim in the district tournament, and the loser will see its season come to an end.

Klahowya (1-4, 6-11) at Port Townsend (1-4, 4-11), 7 p.m.

Despite featuring a roster of nine sophomores and freshmen, the Eagles can get into the 1A district tournament with a win over Port Townsend.

A victory would give Klahowya the second Olympic League 1A seed and pit them against the No. 4 team from the Nisqually League in a Feb. 7 matchup. Klahowya would have to win two pigtail games to get to the main bracket of the district tournament, which starts Feb. 12.

Olympic League 2A could come down to tiebreaker games

If Thursday night’s games break as expected, the No. 1 seed for the boys 2A District 3 tournament would come down to a mini playoff game on Saturday.

If North Kitsap defeats North Mason and Port Angeles knocks off Sequim — or if both teams lose — the two teams would play to determine seeding for the playoffs at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 2 at Kingston High School.

On the girls side, if North Kitsap wins, but Port Angeles loses, that would also force a seeding game since the Roughriders currently have a one-game lead in the standings. In that case, the two games would be back-to-back at Kingston starting at noon.

— Mark Krulish is a reporter for Kitsap News Group. He can be reached at mkrulish@soundpublishing.com. Follow him on Twitter @MKrulishKDN.