By RHYS WALTERS

Before a packed house at the Ballard High gym, the Rainier Beach Vikings defeated the Beavers, 87-71, in a showdown between two undefeated boys high school basketball teams.

The game drew sellout crowds, television camera crews, and local celebrities. Pro athletes Shammond Williams of the Sonics and Ray Roberts of the Seahawks came to root for their favorite teams.

The game began well for the team from Ballard, which initially kept up with Rainier Beach basket for basket. In the middle of the first quarter, the Beavers led for a short time. Ballard's strategy was to utilize a fast-paced approach to its offense. And from the looks of things, that's exactly what the Beavers did in the early going.

But keeping pace with the highly touted Vikings proved too difficult for the Beavers.

Rainier Beach's star twin-brother tandem of Rodrick and Lodrick Stewart, who scored total of 53 combined points in the game, were thorn in the Beavers' side all night. The pair, equally adept at shooting 3-pointers and slamming dunks, simply overwhelmed the beleaguered Beavers.

Ballard got a standout performance from Ahnel Butler, a 6'4 senior guard who led his team with 19 points, as well as from Keauntea Bankhead, a 6-foot sophomore guard who scored 11 points and provided solid defense.

Though Ballard no longer has an undefeated record, its 12-1 record still places them at second in the league.

Hale girls defeat Sealth High

On Friday, Jan. 18, Nathan Hale Raiders' girl's basketball team beat the Chief Sealth Seahawks in a hotly contested game between the two high schools.

"This is definitely a toss-up game," said Hale coach Alvin Horn. "Both teams need this game to get into the Metro League playoffs."

Hale started the game well with the tip, but it became apparent that Sealth played a more aggressive game. The Seahawks led throughout the first half, racking up twice as many fouls as the Raiders. Though the team from Hale was able to get rebounds more consistently, Sealth remained in command of the game in the early going to end the first half with a 25-20 lead.

But during the third quarter, a Sealth player got tangled up with Hale player Brittany Gable in a dash for the ball and came out swinging. The Sealth player was ejected from the game. From then on, the momentum swung in Hale's favor.

"They focused more on our game than on theirs after the whole punching thing," said Hale player Jo Landis of the team from Sealth. "They were annoyed."

Hale soon overcame the Sealth team with well-placed layups from player Elsa Ferguson. With three minutes remaining in the final quarter, and Hale leading 35-31, Gable hit a 3-point shot from well outside the line, and then followed it up with two consecutive free throws to increase Hale's lead, 40-34. Two more lay-ups boosted Hale's score to 44.

With a minute and a half left in the game, the Seahawks made a last-ditch push. A Sealth player hit a 3-point shot, followed quickly by another 2-pointer to cut Hale's lead to 43-37.

But it wasn't enough. Sealth made a final 3-pointer with 15 seconds remaining to end the game 44-40, giving Hale a hard-fought victory - literally.

"It was down to the wire," said Horn. "The kids focused. They knew they had to win. I'm very proud of them."

Hale wrestlers fall to Eastside team

The Nathan Hale Raider's boys wrestling team lost to the Eastside Catholic Crusaders in a match held Tuesday Jan. 15.

Hale Team captain Stephan Schmidt, a senior, expressed disappointment in the team's defeat. "We haven't lost to them in 10 years," said Schmidt.

Key individual winners for the Hale team include Miles Matsen, who pinned his opponent in the 215-pound weight class, Tim Vanoss, who pinned his opponent in the 135-pound weight class, and Erin O'Malley, who scored a tech-fall against his opponent, receiving the only Hale tech-fall win of the night. "We got off to a shaky start," said Schmidt. "Everybody wrestled tough, but it just worked out so that we couldn't wrestle our best," he said.