The Sequim boys and Port Angeles girls find themselves in similar positions at the top of the Olympic League basketball standings.
With less than a month left in the regular season, the trick for both teams is to keep playing at the level that put them in this position.
“I’ve been thinking about that a lot lately,” Sequim coach Greg Glasser said. “You want to keep your kids sharp, you want to keep them motivated.”
The Wolves (8-1, 10-3) moved into a tie for first place with Olympic after beating the Trojans 67-54 last Friday.
“We’ve had a target on our backs all year because the [Olympic League] coaches voted us to win the league [before the season],” Glasser said.
But that target is even bigger now that Sequim is in first place and has beaten every league team once this season.
Whether an opponent is vying for the postseason or dwelling in the lower half of the standings, beating a top team is especially satisfying.
Glasser said the Wolves need to have motivation similar to the teams looking to upset them.
“You have to treat it almost like you lost the first game [of the season series],” Glasser said of facing opponents a second time.
“We have to play like we’re out to get them. Every time you go out, you have to have something to prove — almost like you have a chip on your shoulder.”
The Port Angeles girls are undefeated in league play and have had sole possession of first place since beating Bremerton on Dec. 14.
A rematch with the Knights looms on Friday, Jan. 25, in a game that decide the league championship.
But before that, the Roughriders face Kingston, Klahowya and North Kitsap.
“We talk a lot about the nature of big games,” coach Michael Poindexter said.
“But [the Bremerton] game isn’t a big game if we don’t win these next three.”
First up is a home game with Kingston (4-4, 6-6) tonight. The Buccaneers currently occupy fifth place in the league and Port Angeles already beat them 58-40 last month.
“That was one of our toughest games of the season, in a lot of ways,” Poindexter said.
“Kingston has our full attention. Nobody on our team, looking past them. Every on our team respects them.”
The Sequim boys start the week with a bye, and then they have an important date Friday with Kingston, which at 5-3 (7-5 overall) is fourth in the league.
“We’re running through the top of the league right now,” Glasser said of the schedule.
“It’s good for our guys to have to compete every night.”