Game Story: Garfield Bulldogs vs. Ballard Beavers

Life without Tony Wroten Jr. continued Tuesday night for the Garfield Bulldogs. And so did their quest to prove that they are still the team to beat in KingCo 4A.

Returning to action following their buzzer-beater victory Friday night, the Bulldogs (2-0) defeated the visiting Ballard Beavers (2-4) 71-48, in a game that was close early before morphing into an easy blowout win.

With the community still in an outrage over the Seattle Public School’s recent decision to remove the 15-year-old sophomore from the Garfield school district due to an ongoing residency issue, Head Coach Ed Haskins priority remained keeping his team focused on the court and not distracted by the controversy surrounding them off of it.

Early on it was senior Christian Blanks leading the Bulldog attack, scoring 11 of his 13 points in the first quarter.

Ballard held their ground early, relying on a sound fast break to gain a brief 17-16 lead midway through the second quarter.

The Beaver offense was seemingly stuck in neutral the rest of the evening, finally succumbing to Garfield’s superior athleticism and smothering full-court press.

Garfield’s defense prevented the Beavers from producing a double-digit scorer, holding Ballard senior Nick Palewicz to team-high nine points.

Senior Eric Taylor added eight points, while no other Ballard player scored more than four.

Meanwhile points were easy to come by heading the other way. The Bulldogs used a 14-1 second-quarter run to close the half up 30-18, before exploding for a 41-point outburst following the break.

One bright spot in a second half that mostly saw the Bulldogs lead hover around thirty points were the Gloyd brothers, Salim and Moussa. For the first time in their high school career, sophomore Salim Gloyd of Garfield, and senior Moussa Gloyd of Ballard were opposite each other in a brotherly duel.

Salim went 4-6 from the field for nine points, while his brother Moussa had two points, displaying the same tenacity on the basketball court that made him captain of the Ballard football team.

De’Andre Taylor led all scorers with 19 points, going a perfect 5-5 from behind the arc and 7-10 overall from the field. It was his second brilliant effort in as many games.

As the Bulldogs continue to define their identity post-Tony Wroten Jr., one thing is becoming clear: De’Andre “Dre” Taylor looks ready to fill the void---so far so good for the Bulldogs.