North Kitsap’s boys emerged on the winning end of a back-and-forth contest Monday night, slipping past Sequim 53-50 in Poulsbo in a battle for one of the top spots in the Olympic League.

North Kitsap’s Ethan Graebner drained a pair of free throws and Sequim’s Adrian Espinoza missed a potential game-tying 3-pointer at the buzzer to send Sequim (3-3 in Olympic League play, 6-6 overall) home with a loss.

Sequim’s Alex Barry scored a game-high 23 points on 10-of-19 shooting and had 17 rebounds and six blocks, and teammate Vance Willis added 19 points and 12 rebounds. But the Vikings (4-1, 9-4) held Sequim to just one-of-17 (6 percent) from beyond the 3-point line and forced 20 Wolves turnovers.

In girls action, North Kitsap (2-3, 6-5) upended the host Sequim squad 54-50, dropping the Wolves to 3-3 in league play and 6-7 overall.

The Lady Wolves took an 18 point lead into halftime (31-13) but the Vikings fought back outscoring the Wolves 23-14 in the third quarter and 18-5 in the fourth.

“First, (North Kitsap) is a talented team and I give them a lot of credit for never giving up,” Sequim coach Evan Still said. “It’s hard to be down 18 at halftime and to come out fighting like they did. They deserved the win tonight.”

Still said the Wolves shot well but they were out of position on defense most of the second half with on-ball and help defense.

“We allowed too many drives to the basket, often resulting in 3-point plays,” he said.

Caitlin Stofferahn led Sequim with 16 point while Kylee Williams had nine points and six rebounds and Adrienne Haggerty had six points and seven rebounds. Olivia Selembo led the Vikings with 19 points and Rebekah Baugh scored 15.

Both Sequim teams were coming off of hard-fought wins against rival Port Angeles on Jan. 9.

Sequim is back in action Jan. 14 against Chimacum, with the Wolves’ boys on the road and the Sequim girls at home.