Spartans slow, short against Ballard boys hoopsters

Published 12:14 pm Sunday, February 14, 2016

The latest loss at home for the Bainbridge High varsity boys basketball team came courtesy of the visiting squad from Ballard Friday night.

The final score saw the Beavers up 49-24 over the sluggish Spartans.

The guests scored first and led throughout the game as the BHS squad gave a lackadaisical performance that Spartan Head Coach Steve Haizlip described as “a big step back.”

It was the team’s fourth consecutive loss at home and left the Spartans with an overall season record of 5-12 (1-10 in conference). Bainbridge is ranked sixth in the Metro Mountain Division, while Seattle Prep holds the top spot with an overall season record of 11-7 (9-4 in conference).

BHS was behind from the start in Friday’s lopsided loss.

The guests got on the board quickly — with a little more than six minutes left in the first quarter — and though Bainbridge brought things close again soon after, the Beavers were ahead 16-6 with one minute remaining.

Moments into the second, the song remained the same as Ballard led 18-8 with about five minutes to go in the half. And, though the Spartans made gains, they were simply outplayed at every turn, leaving them behind 24-10 with about 2:30 left.

Entering the night’s final stanza down 42-20, the Spartan game continued to be mauled by mistakes — turnovers especially. They passed to phantom players and lost a ball or two after it dribbled off somebody’s toe.

Down 47-22 with less than a minute to go, and the writing was quite literally on the wall.

It was a freak flop by a team that has persevered through some early season struggles to show marked improvement as of late. A team that still could, Haizlip said Friday, dig its way out.

“We’re in a big hole,” he said. “I still believe in these guys, though, ultimately, they’ve got to believe in themselves. I’m not saying that they don’t believe in themselves, but I think there’s a little bit of doubt. And that happens.”

The coach said that it was important for the players to have a short memory for mistakes, to not let errors faze them, while still remembering what went wrong and working to correct it. It is not an easy balance to strike, of course, especially with the added pressure of a hometown audience to play for.

Haizlip went so far as to apologize to the Spartan fans for Friday’s performance.

“My biggest thing is I’m sorry that’s a product that we put on the court for them,” he said. “It’s been pretty amazing, the support that we’ve been getting.

“I think a lot of people don’t get that in high school sports,” Haizlip added. “That’s why I’m proud to be here, and they continue to support their teams. And I know that when we right the ship here, it’s going to be even better.”

Two freshman players were brought up from C team, Jackson Taylor and Merrit McMahon, later in the game, Haizlip said, to shake things up and prove a point.

“I love what they do and who they’re about,” he said. “I’ve been watching them and their level of play as far as attitude, effort [and] their desire and I want to reward that. And, for me, that’s something that for Bainbridge to be successful you have to do.

“That’s what Bainbridge basketball is going to be,” he added. “Those are the people we want, players we want, in the program. And I think they came up and held their own.”

Brendan Burke led the Spartans on the board with 10 points. He was the only BHS player to break into double digits.

Marcus Clyde managed six.