BREMERTON — As if the North wasn’t already enough of a free-for-all, the resurgence of Olympic has ensured that there will be no nights off.
The Rangers entered Northwest Athletic Conference men’s North Region play as one of the apparent sure things in the region — with a 2-9 record, they were a sure thing to finish last.
Apparently not.
Olympic defeated Peninsula 81-72 on Wednesday to improve to 3-1 in the region and now sit in a three-way tie for first with Edmonds and Everett.
The Pirates drop to 2-2 in the North and are in a three-way tie for second with Skagit Valley and Shoreline.
The Peninsula women improved to 4-0 in region play with a 68-57 win over Olympic on Wednesday.
The Olympic men haven’t defeated Peninsula in nearly six years. The Rangers’ last win in the series was by a score of 74-70 on Jan. 30, 2010, in what was the final season of Peter Stewart’s tenure as the head coach of the Pirates.
“I thought that we were a little flat offensively and defensively,” Mitch Freeman, the current coach of the Pirates, said of Wednesday’s loss.
“We didn’t play with a lot of aggressiveness on the defensive end, which impacted what we were able to do on offense.”
The Rangers held a six-point lead at halftime and added to their advantage and led by double figures for most of the second half.
Peninsula rallied back to within four points with three minutes left behind the shooting of Deonte Dixon, a Bremerton High School graduate who was playing in front of a hometown crowd.
After the Pirates closed the gap to two possessions, though, Olympic went on a scoring streak to put the game away.
“Deonte was able to score, especially in the second half,” Freeman said.
“He was playing in front of friends and family, and I thought he handled that pressure well.”
Dixon finished with 18 points and made 4 of 7 shots from 3-point range.
Freshman Darrion Daniels led Peninsula with 20 points. Ryley Callaghan and Malik Mayeux each finished with 10 points.
Freeman said that Olympic’s significant improvement since region play has a lot to do with being healthy.
Brian Neal, the third leading scorer in the NWAC, put up 26 points for Olympic.
Noah Spearman and Elijah Butler finished with 13 and 12 rebounds respectively, for the Rangers.
“Brian Neal, he’s as good as it gets in the NWAC,” Freeman said. “Even when you do a great job defensively, he can make a shot from 25 feet.
“Spearman and Butler, that combination, they’re really good, and they keep so many basketballs alive, even if they don’t get them.”
The Rangers finished the game with a 46-39 rebounding edge, though Peninsula held them to 14 offensive boards, three below their season average.
Next up for the Pirates (9-9 overall) is a road game Saturday against Bellevue, which, with an 0-4 region mark, might even be more of a surprise than Olympic this season.
“We’ve got a big one in Bellevue, they got a ton of size, strength and experience on their side,” Freeman said of the 9-10 Bulldogs.
“But our focus has got to be us. If we can bring the energy level on the offensive and defensive end, we’re a good basketball team.”
Olympic 81, Peninsula 72
Peninsula 30 42— 72
Olympic 36 45— 81
Individual scoring
Peninsula (72)
Callaghan 10, Daniels 20, Dixon 18, Amos 6, Mayeux 10, Baham 6, Hobbs 2, Lo, Reis, Nibler.
Olympic (81)
Butler 6, Martin 15, Neal 26, Tucker 12, Simmons 3, Spearman 15, Gathers 4, Belmonte, Kroger, Juhas, Reed, McConnaughey.
