Last night, the Beavers faced the Eastlake Wolves for Ballard's first-ever boys basketball KingCo playoff game in front of a home crowd.

The Beavers had a rocky first quarter, losing it 14 to 16 to the Wolves. Ballard also lost starter Sophomore Seth Berger to a twisted ankle and Sophomore Johnny Verduin picked up three fouls.

The second quarter was much better for the Beavers, who put on some tight defense and closed the gap to one point by halftime.

The Beavers came out strong the second half, gaining a four point lead over Eastlake in the third quarter. Going into the last quarter with a score of 49 to 45, the energy in the gym was high. The Beavers put on some nice shooting and tight defense. Eastlake was unable to catch up and Ballard finished the game strong for its first playoff game victory with a final score of 71 to 57.

The Beavers shot 84 percent from the line for the game, the highest total of the season. Senior Salim Gloyd lead all scorers with 25 points and 14 rebounds, his 15th double double of the season. Senior Nick Onstad-Hawes had a career high of 10 points going 6 for 6 from the free throw line in the later part of the game. Junior Brad Baker had 12 points. Five players ended with double digit scoring.

Ballard plays this Friday at 6:30 at Juanita High School against Newport Knights. Winner of that game qualifies for state and plays in the Kingco title game.