Steven Gray scores 36 as Bainbridge drops Clover Park.

LAKEWOOD – It was Steven Gray’s night, and everyone knew it.

“Hey, you number 32?” a female Clover Park fan called out as Gray was heading towards the bus.

“Yeah,” Gray said as he turned around to acknowledge her.

“Hey, you were baaallin’!” she yelled out.

Gray smiled as he continued to receive handshakes and kudos from other fans walking by.

The senior co-captain earned their admiration by scoring 36 points as second-ranked Bainbridge defeated fifth-ranked Clover Park 65-33, Wednesday night at Clover Park High School.

He scored 25 points in the first half, 19 of which came in the second quarter.

Gray was 14 of 22 from the floor, including 4 of 6 from the arc.

“He’s so smooth,” head coach Scott Orness said. “I thought it was a quiet 36, but he hit his shots.

“But he didn’t play a selfish game. He had a bunch of assists. He was patient, waited for the open man and let the game come to him.”

It came to him from the opening tip, as Gibler won it and made a quick pass to Austin Wood, who made an equally quick pass to Gray for a two-hand jam.

But both sides struggled to make shots, as Clover Park scored to make it 10-6 late in the first quarter.

“There were a lot of different circumstances that we had to get used to,” Gray said, admitting there were some nerves in the beginning.

“We’re playing the fifth-ranked team, so there were some jitters,” Gray said.

But the nerves didn’t stay for long, as Gray, Gibler and Wood scored over a 1:19 span to push the lead back to 10.

Then Gray got hot, scoring on three straight three-pointers and several buckets in the post, capping it all off with a gorgeous one-handed dunk off a pass from Rudy Sharar.

“I felt good out there,” Gray said. “I just got into a rhythm.”

Wood got into a rhythm of his own in the third quarter, scoring seven points down low and dominating on the glass, grabbing several rebounds.

He finished with nine points, 10 rebounds and five assists.

“I thought Austin had his best game of the season out there,” Orness said. “He had a heck of a game offensively and he converted on some tough shots.”

Gray scored six in the third, including four on two inbound plays, the latter coming on a fall-away shot while he was receiving the pass.

The Spartans turned it up defensively as well, holding the Warriors to just four points in the third quarter and keeping them from getting into an offensive rhythm for the entire game.

Caleb Davis and Sharar held Clover Park’s high scoring guard Matt Geverola to zero points.

“Coach told us at halftime not to joke around with this team,” Gray said. “We had to come out and match their intensity and take care of business.”

Gray wrapped up his night with a layin and a three pointer in the fourth quarter with 5:57 left.

With the 36 points added to his career total, he became the area’s leading scorer with 1,972 points including his first two seasons at 2A Chimacum. But Gray won’t make it a part of his resume.

“It’s nice to have, but it’s not something I’m going to linger over,” he said. “Maybe it would be different if it was the last game of my (prep) career.”

Instead, he’d rather take the win over a high ranked team.

“To come in and do that on their home court, it’s a big confidence boost,” Gray said. “That’ll be important come January.”

Gibler finished with 12 points, nine rebounds, three blocks and three steals.

Also in the record books are Spartan girls Caitlyn Salo and Brittany Gray, both of whom have now scored 400 or more points in their prep careers at Bainbridge.

Brittany Gray, a sophomore, is the quickest to reach that plateau in school history.

The boys take some time off for the holidays, then play at North Kitsap Dec. 29 at 7 p.m.

The girls host Meadowdale Dec. 28 at 6:45 p.m., then play at the Vikings in a makeup game the next day. Game time is 6 p.m.

More awards for athletes

Two more BHS athletes have earned high honors for their stellar play during the fall year.

Bryan Gilbreath was named to the Associated Press’ all-state football team, the first time a Spartan football player has been bestowed the honor.

He was named to the 3A first-team as a tight end and a defensive lineman.

“It’s pretty cool,” Gilbreath said. “Actually, it’s really cool. It’s nice to represent my team and the island.”

While he had a great season on the gridiron, Gilbreath didn’t expect it to be this good.

“I thought I did OK, but I wasn’t expecting the hype that I got,” he said.

Gilbreath was named to the Kitsap Sun’s All-West Sound team for both sides and the Seattle Times’ Star Times team on defense.

The senior is also a standout lacrosse player and was selected as a Division I all-state first team on defense last year as a junior.

Gilbreath is currently looking at Johns Hopkins or Air Force for lacrosse.

Hannah Stuart also added more accolades for her stellar season.

The senior was named the AP 3A volleyball MVP for the state and selected to the all-state first team as well.

It’s the first time a Bainbridge volleyball player has earned the honor.

“It’s very exciting that I got it,” she said. “With all the good players in the state, it definitely means a lot. I’m honored to receive it.”

Stuart was also named to the Times’ Star Times team for volleyball and was the Seattle P-I’s MVP for volleyball.

She will attend George Washington University next year.