“Boys’ basketball coach Jeff Eller tells his players it’s important to be playing their best ball in February.Nick Thompson couldn’t wait.The senior co-captain scored 11 points in the first quarter to spark the Spartans to a 65-51 win over visiting Bremerton on Tuesday, lifting Bainbridge into sole possession of third place in the Olympic League.Though he scored just two more points the rest of the way to finish with a game-high 13, Thompson set the tone for the rest of the team by concentrating on the hoops equivalent of the Mariners’ Small Ball.Rebounding. Passing the ball around and working the clock. Lots of other things that don’t show up on stat sheets but help win games.It was a methodical, business-like effort, Eller said. Our guys were all very unselfish, and it was a classic team game. We did all the things a playoff team needs to do.And it wasn’t just Thompson. Playing perhaps their best quarter of team basketball and supplementing Thompson’s output, the Spartans jumped off to a 22-12 first quarter lead. Bremerton never got closer than eight points the rest of the way.The scoring was balanced – Teddy Picha had 12 points; Mike Botefuhr, Travis Guterson and Adam Brenneman all had nine; Zach Whedbee added eight.Some other stats also told the story. A whopping 25 offensive boards set up close-in second and third shots that contributed to 56 percent two-point shooting. Led by Brenneman’s five, the team recorded 13 assists, compared to four for Bremerton. And for the first time this year, everyone finished in positive territory in the arcane formula that coach Jeff Eller employs to determine the team’s Performance Rating. The plus-43 was the team’s highest to date.With Bainbridge leading 7-6 three minutes into the game, Picha drove the lane for two, then Thompson hit two free throws and followed with a five-foot turnaround jumper to make the score 13-6. Bremerton called a time out, but Thompson drilled a trey and Botefuhr converted a loose ball in front of the hoop to complete an 11-point run in just over three minutes. Bremerton answered with the first of half a dozen treys, but Thompson put in a shot from under the hoop and Chris Mandell banked in a three-foot jumper on an inbounds play. The Spartans also helped themselves to the fast start by committing just one turnover in the first eight minutes.Guterson opened the second quarter with a three-point shot and two free throws in the first 30 seconds to give the Spartans a 27-12 lead and more than half their second-quarter points, as the pace of the game slowed considerably. Three Bremerton treys chipped the Bainbridge halftime lead to 31-23.Two Picha layins sandwiched Whidbee’s 15-foot jumper pushed the lead to 37-23 to open the third quarter as Bremerton went three minutes before scoring. Guterson hit a short jumper in heavy traffic and a minute later stole a pass for a layin to build the lead to 43-29. Bremerton went on a five-point run before Brenneman’s pull-up five-foot jumper and Whedbee’s two free throws with less than three seconds remaining extended the lead to 47-35 at the buzzer. Bremerton cut the margin to eight beginning the final quarter before Guterson’s seeing-eye laser pass to Brenneman for a layin put the lead back at 10. Botefuhr’s trey answered a Knight hoop with less than five minutes left, then Thompson fed him for a layin to make the score 54-41 with four minutes left. With the clock winding down, the Spartans began playing more deliberately – forcing the Knights to foul – and began a parade to the foul line. They sank nine of 12 in the final 2:47 to seal the victory. Simon Pollack made the most of a brief appearance in the last minute to score three points.After last night’s game at Olympic, the team travels to Port Townsend Tuesday.Girls bounce back, subdue KnightsAfter a slow start, the Spartan girls’ basketball team bounced back from Friday’s loss to Port Angeles to overwhelm Bremerton 77-43 on the road Tuesday. Emily Pierce had a career-high 25 points and pulled down 18 rebounds. Carlie Miller, starting in place of flu-stricken Fab Rezayat, had her best game of the season, scoring seven points and dishing out 11 assists – the latter the third-best single-game total in Spartan history. Morgan Zajonc scored 14 points, including three of five from three-point range, while Alice Russell added 13. Courtney Kimball added a pair of treys and Miller had one for a total of six to tie the team record.Bremerton had five three-pointers in taking an early 13-6 lead, before Bainbridge rallied and led 21-17 at the end of the first.They hit almost every shot they could at the start, coach Penny Gienger said. We didn’t put enough pressure on them.The Spartans outscored the Knights 24-8 in the second quarter and 16-5 in the third to end any suspense.The team shot 51 percent overall from the field, hauled down 41 rebounds and handed out 22 assists to come within three of tying a Bainbridge all-time high.Following last night’s game against Olympic, the team hosts Port Townsend on Tuesday.Laura Hornung, sidelined since mid-December with a thumb injury, is scheduled to have her cast removed Monday and should see action against the Redskins. Bainbridge JVs 55, Bremerton JVs 22 – After opening a 26-10 halftime lead, the Spartans played an outstanding third quarter as they outscored the Knights 21-6 and coasted home.Tasha Francis scored 16 points and was five of six from the free throw line. Haley Wiggins added 10 points. “