Eric Taylor, driving against Stadium High School in December, leads the playoff-bound Beavers with 14.8 points per game.
The Ballard High School boys basketball team is headed for the KingCo 4A playoffs for the first time in team history.
The sixth-seeded Beavers closed out the season with victories over Bothell and Roosevelt to earn an 8-8 conference record (11-9 overall).
Ballard will square off against third-seeded Issaquah High School at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 17 at Issaquah. Ballard will also play a to-be-decided opponent Feb. 20 at Juanita High School in the double-elimination playoffs.
Ballard lost to Issaquah (12-8) by 16 points Jan. 13, but coach Billy Rodgers said the game was close until the fourth quarter, and the Beavers have improved both defensively and offensively since then.
Rodgers said Issaquah has the second-best offense in the league and it will be up to the Beaver defense to stop Issaquah's top offensive players.
"They're a good team," Rodgers said. "They're not the number three seed for no reason."
The Beavers will be lead offensively by senior Eric Taylor and junior John Barnes, averaging 14.8 and 10.6 points per game respectively.
The Ballard boys basketball team has not made the playoffs since moving from the Metro league to KingCo 4A.
