Eastlake suffers punishing 86-53 loss against rival Skyline
In a hyped-up rivalry between the Skyline Spartans and the Eastlake Wolves at Eastlake on Monday, Jan. 29, the visitors trounced the home team in an 86-53 victory.
In the first quarter, the Spartans quickly gave the crowd a preview of what was to come, jumping out to an 8-2 early lead and then added 12 more points before the Wolves found the net again to make it 20-4. Aided by many fouls on the Wolves defense, the Spartans connected on three free throws. A few late dunk attempts fired up the visiting crowd, and the quarter ended with the Spartans up, 25-8.
The second quarter started with what seemed like a Wolves resurgence, with three straight baskets from the home team to make it 25-14. However, it was not meant to be, as the Spartans went on their most productive run of the night with 15 unanswered points. Multiple passes that spanned long lengths of the court seemed to confuse the Wolves, and the Spartans continued their habit of overpowering the defense into easy 2-point shots. A deep 3-pointer put the exclamation point on the first half, and it ended with the Spartans on top, 45-15.
Coming out of the break, the two sides traded blows for a while, with each team matching the other’s shots. But, midway through the third quarter, the Spartans, once again, found a groove and managed to add a couple 3-pointers to widen the gap again, 60-25.
Some good passing and a couple Spartan fouls let the Wolves come back for a late third quarter surge. But try as they might, the difference was just too much at 64-33. The Spartans had been living in the paint all night long, and as the Wolves tired out, that trend increased even more. Even though there was still one quarter remaining, it was clear the home team was down and out. It was just a matter of minimizing the damage from here.
The fourth quarter did nothing to reverse the rout, as the Spartans controlled the ball and used up long stretches off the shot clock to drain the time. The Wolves were helpless to stop the Spartans in their onslaught. While the home team’s aggressiveness could not be understated, the visitors developed an insurmountable lead. The home crowd was sullen as the final buzzer sounded, and the Spartans completed the beatdown, finishing with a score of 86-53.
Skyline will play at home against North Creek High School on Feb. 13 as part of the King County 4A District tournament taking place Feb. 7-17.
