Steven Gray, Coby Gibler dominate the inside in big non-league win.
Posted at 1 a.m.
KEY ARENA, SEATTLE – Steven Gray and Coby Gibler combined for 36 points and 24 rebounds as the Bainbridge Spartans defeated the South Kitsap Wolves 58-49 at the King Classic Saturday night at Key Arena in Seattle for their ninth win in a row.
Gray led all scorers with 23 points while Gibler had a double-double of 13 points and 15 rebounds.
The Spartans, ranked second in the 3A state polls, had a tough go of it at first, as they struggled on hitting their shots.
The Wolves took a 7-2 lead on a three-pointer by Kris Carlson and a bucket by Tippy Burk.
But Gray and Gibler were able to convert on three-point plays and keep things close.
In the second quarter, Bainbridge took the lead at 16-15 on a layin by Rudy Sharar off a nice pass from Gibler and the Spartans didn’t look back.
Gibler scored on successive Bainbridge possesions with some nice moves in the post and Gray put them up by seven when he stripped South Kitsap wing LP Neloms and raced down the court for the layin.
The Spartans increased their lead to as many as ten in the third but the Wolves went on a 5-0 run near the end to close the gap to five.
But with five minutes left in the fourth, Nick Fling hit a crucial three-pointer while Sharar and Gray connected on layins to keep the lead on their side.
South Kitsap got a break when Sharar was whistled for a foul and a technical foul, but Burk hit on only three of the four foul shots.
Bainbridge was then able to hit their foul shots and control the ball to run out the clock.
Gray had nine rebounds, five steals, two assists and one block to go with his points, while Gibler had 13 points, 15 rebounds and two assists.
Fling had seven points, five rebounds and one block while Wood had six points, four assists and four rebounds.
The Spartans held the Wolves to just 29 percent shooting from the field.
Burk had 17 points on 4 of 12 field goals while Neloms had 14 points.
Bainbridge (6-0, 9-0) faces off against number one 4A Franklin at 6:30 p.m. Monday at the MLK Holiday Hoopfest at the Hec Ed Pavilion on the University of Washington campus.
The Bainbridge girls play Roosevelt, ranked number four in 4A, at 9:30 a.m.
