In a battle between schools separated by a mere seven miles, the Skyline Spartans boys basketball team reigned victorious against the Issaquah Eagles.

Skyline, which led by 16 points early in the second quarter due its proficient perimeter shooting and formidable defense, faced an Issaquah squad that displayed heart, desire and intensity despite trailing by double digits early in the contest. The Eagles got within six points on three different occasions in the fourth quarter, but Skyline held on for a 63-55 win on Dec. 16 in Sammamish.

The Spartans improved their overall record to 4-2 with the win while Issaquah dropped to 3-3 with the loss. Skyline head coach Joe Fithian believed his team’s defense made the Issaquah offense work for their points throughout the duration of the game.

“We pride ourselves on our defense. Coming into the game, we were second in the league (KingCo 4A) in total defense. I don’t think anybody except for Bothell (KingCo first place team) has scored more than 60 points on us. We’ve been getting the job done on defense,” Fithian said.

Skyline sharpshooter Kellan Przybylski, who knocked down four 3-pointers in the first quarter, thought his team executed in the pressure-packed second half.

“We played good defense and we tried to move the ball around and get good shots. We didn’t want to turn it over. They started to pressure us a little bit and we had to handle that,” Przybylski said. “It was a good quality win all around for us.”

Fithian wasn’t surprised to see No. 3 (Przybylski) knock down his shots from beyond the arc.

“He is an amazing kid. He is hard for teams to shut down. All he needs is a little bit of space,” Fithian said of Przybylski.

Fithian has been so impressed with his team’s shooting ability in early season action that he gives his players an abundance of freedom when they’re on the floor.

“The great thing about this year’s team is that everybody can shoot. Everybody has a green light. I always tell them as long as their feet are set and they’re catching a ball that is directly thrown to you, that you need to shoot it. If you don’t, you hurt us,” Fithian explained. “They have really taken that to heart. It is such a fun team to coach. They’re smart kids. They know what a good shot is and they know the ones they shouldn’t take.”