Two weeks after last playing, the Ballard High School boys' basketball team snapped a four-game losing streak Dec. 30 thanks to a game-high 23 points from senior guard Eric Taylor.

The Beavers beat Tacoma's Stadium High School 45-41 to improve to 3-4 overall, but have yet to win a conference match.

Taylor's 23 points were his most since dropping 29 on Mercer Island in the Dec. 3 season-opener. He leads the team in scoring with 12.4 points per game and is tied for fourth place for total points in KingCo 4A with 87.

Ballard jumped out to an early 9-0 lead on Stadium with Taylor leading the way, but the Beavers allowed Stadium to crawl back in the game and take a 25-24 half-time lead.

The game remained tight until the final moments when Taylor nailed a pair of free throws with 19 seconds left to secure the win.

Ballard coach Billy Rodgers said Taylor needs to remain the focus of the offense in coming games. He wants the team to make sure Taylor is getting good shots and that the ball is in his hands because of how he handles it and makes free throws down the stretch.

"He is just critical to what we want to do offensively," Rodgers said.

Taylor said he accomplished his goal against Stadium, which was to be aggressive and drive to the basket. His teammates did a great job of getting him the ball he said.

Ballard had not played since Dec. 16 and Stadium had not played since Dec. 2 due to weather-related cancellations and the holiday break.

Rodgers said while it gave some players needed time to heal injuries, it was tricky for Ballard to deal with the time off and it showed in some early turnovers and missed shots.

The team was able to cope relatively well with the extended layoff from competition by getting into the gym everyday and practicing hard, Taylor said.

It is going to be important for Ballard to keep the momentum from the win going as they return to conference play, Rodgers said.

So far in the conference the Beavers have lost to Inglemoor by 39 points, Lake Washington by 11 points and Garfield by 34 points.

Garfield and Inglemoor are very talented teams and Ballard should have an easier time with upcoming conference opponents, Rodgers said.

"We feel like we had tougher teams early," he said. "And hopefully we can bounce back in the division."

In order to do that Rodgers said the team is going to need to make sure that Taylor stays out of foul trouble and can get good shots early in games.

"The first five minutes are really important," Rodgers said. "He can get into a rhythm early."

Rodgers said he would also like to see junior forward John Barnes get going to take the pressure off of Taylor.

Barnes, the team's leading scorer from a year ago, has been plagued by foul trouble this season, but is still second on the team in scoring with 56 points, averaging 9.3 per game.