Boys hit the road, subdue Olympic

SILVERDALE – Steven Gray and Coby Gibler are becoming a two-man force for the boys basketball team.

“They’ve got a nice one-two punch there with Gray and Gibler,” Olympic coach Tyson Whitfield said. “We had to go for turnovers and gave up too much size on the glass.”

The duo combined for 59 points as the Spartans overcame a tough Olympic Trojans team 85-58 in a non-league game Wednesday, their fourth straight win.

Head coach Scott Orness was impressed with the Trojans’ play.

“They’re always right there (competing) in games,” he said. “They’re a team that’s better than their record shows. They don’t play like a team that’s 1-7.”

They didn’t in the first quarter, as the Trojans quickly built a 9-4 lead. Ryan Neal hit a three, while Chris Lane and Rashad Greene added two points each.

Bain­bridge fought back, but Olympic used their quick guards to force turnovers and hold Gray to zero points in the quarter. Gibler scored eight points to put the Spartans up by a point after one.

“They were transitioning really well,” Gibler said. “They would get out after a shot and were getting easy buckets. We were having trouble stopping that.”

In a hot-shooting second quarter, both teams combined for 47 points.

Gray got hot and hit three three -pointers, while Gibler got it done in the paint with eight points.

But the Trojans kept at it, as Justin Turner and Neal hit some big shots to keep Olympic within striking distance.

Orness said Olympic’s various defensive formations kept Bain­bridge from maintaining an offensive rhythm.

“In the first half, they threw about four different defenses at us and we were constantly adjusting,” he said. “Finally at halftime, we talked about ‘just quit playing their style of game and play our game,’ and we started pushing the ball and getting a lot of fast-break points.”

Olympic kept it close in the third, but Gray, Gibler and Austin Wood put Bainbridge ahead by 12 going into the final quarter.

There, the Trojans went cold, scoring just eight in the period while the Spartans went on a 16-4 run to close it out.

“We’re really good when we’re running the floor and we’re attacking the basket,” Orness said. “We struggle when we sit and we evaluate and catch the ball and put the ball above our head. But when we’re running the floor and attacking the basket, we’re a tough team.”

Gray finished with 31 points off of 11-for-17 shooting. He also had 15 rebounds and five assists.

Gibler scored 28 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and had four blocks.

The Spartans are starting to return to good health. The contest saw Wood back from an ankle injury – although he still walks with a slight limp.

Theo Miller, who had knee surgery earlier in the month, will be available in time for the Spartans’ game against O’Dea next week. Gibler is excited to have him back.

“He helps me in practice and we feed off each other,” he said. “We’re going to be tough.”

Bainbridge played Clover Park yesterday. They play the Fighting Irish next Tuesday on the road, then return home to play with an 8 p.m. contest Friday against Bishop Blanchet at Paski Gym.

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