UPDATE | BHS boys claim year’s first hoops win over former coach

Published 2:19 pm Monday, December 7, 2015

It turns out, you can go home again.

Just don’t expect to win any basketball games when you get there.

The North Kitsap High Vikings, led by previous longtime Bainbridge coach Scott Orness, left the island gymnasium Monday night down 49-47 against the Spartan squad, which, in new BHS Head Coach Steve Haizlip’s first time on the court, set a serious tone for the season to come.

It was a hard-hitting, razzle-dazzle debut, which drew a large crowd and felt more like a high stakes postseason playoff matchup than the non-conference season starter it was.

For all the hype, there was a lot of grace both on and off the court throughout the game.

In fact, only one overt nod to Orness’ return was made at all: a sign waved by one student that read “WELCOME HOME ORNESS.”

Bainbridge scored first and led throughout nearly all of the contest, losing the lead only briefly late in the game and then recovering it quickly.

“I think it’s going to be a great rivalry,” Haizlip said. “It was something very special. Especially for me, [being] my first game coaching in Paski and here at Bainbridge, it doesn’t get any better than that. It’s pretty sweet.

“I was telling Coach Orness at the end, that’s why we do this,” Haizlip added.

BHS junior guard Lyle Terry scored first with a decisive three-pointer, earning the Spartans an advantage on the board almost right away.

He would finish the game with 16 total points, tying with North Kitsap’s senior guard Cole Rabedeaux as the game’s top scorer.

Terry managed four of the seven three-pointers he attempted throughout the game, two in the first quarter alone.

By the end of the first, the Spartans led 17-14, and their unwavering defense beneath the net kept the Vikings to a single-digit score in the second (12-9) to finish the half, 29-23.

The third quarter was the only one in which the Spartans did not outscore their rivals (13-8 NK), and the game entered its final minutes 37-36 BHS.

The Spartans owned the paint in the fourth and forced the visitors to play the outside game throughout much of the grabby second half, which saw both teams into the penalty for fouls. The island squad lost the lead ever-so-briefly in the game’s final quarter, but snared it right back to finish with the win.

The team came out strong and sure, Haizlip said, which undoubtedly made the difference early in the game but which actually might have been detrimental later on.

“There was a lot of confidence to them,” he said. “But, I think they got a little too confident and that’s what we’ve been trying to stress in practice — staying steady.

“I think, also, NK poised themselves and came in and hit big shots,” he added. “Give all the credit to them. It was a great game and it was back and forth.”

It felt as if there was a lot at stake, Haizlip said, though he worked hard with the team before and after the game to keep things in perspective.

“I don’t think they’re overly excited, but [they’re] excited to win,” he said. “I don’t want to lose anything. As much as I say that any one game isn’t bigger than any other — it is a rival game. And, for a lot of these guys, [the chance] to go against their former coach. I tried not to make that the stress of it. It’s not about him. It’s about Bainbridge and North Kitsap playing.

“We’re proud and we’re going to enjoy this for 24 hours, and then we’ve got to focus on continuing,” Haizlip said.

The coach said the team played very well defensively, as evident in their ability to shut down the Viking’s shooting opportunities, but that the Spartans had a lot of practice ahead of them on the other side of the ball.

“Defensively, I’m very happy,” he said. “My goal is 45 points. We held them to 47. Offensively, we’ve got a lot of work to do. I expected this. I thought we’d be a little rusty. For me, there’s nowhere [to go] but up.”

The team was led on the court by its primary captain Reed Thomas.

“[He’s] very solid and level and steady and he’s a true, true, true leader,” the coach said of the senior guard.

Reed was himself assisted by the current co-captain, a position Haizlip said will rotate among other players, held currently by Terry.

“My goal right now is I just want to be a better team as the season goes along,” Haizlip said. “I want to be a better coach as the season goes along. We’re going to get there.”

The Spartans took their early season show on the road next, to the Tipoff Classic at Auburn Riverside Saturday, Dec. 5, before returning to their next home game at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 8 against Roosevelt High.