The balance that marked the early part of Friday’s boys varsity basketball game was anything but delicate.

The Bainbridge Spartans and the Rainier Beach Vikings broke out into a brutal back-and-forth — in which the BHS squad led initially — at the tipoff, and nipped each others heels all through the early part of the game with neither team gaining much advantage over the other.

Then, just a minute or so before the end of the first half, Rainier Beach got on a run. It was a palpable moment that reverberated through the crowded island gymnasium, and a run that would continue in the third quarter, leaving the Spartans to play catch up for the remainder of the game.

The eventual 86-63 loss would be the Spartans’ third straight Friday night home court defeat in as many weeks.

Outscored in every quarter perhaps, but the Spartans were far from discouraged and were in fact making tangible advancements with every outing, BHS Head Coach Steve Haizlip said Friday.

“We’re disappointed,” he said. “But we talked about being consistent and working hard and being committed to each other and not an individual, and we’re taking those steps and I thought tonight — other than a few minutes here and there — we really tried to play together and play hard and play committed.

“And, if we do, we’re going to be OK,” he added.

The Vikings barely edged their way into the lead in the first quarter (15-14) before finding their groove in the second (31-17).

Down 45-32 going into the second half, the Spartans kicked things into high gear and hung just behind their guests (22-17) in the third.

It was an obvious turning point, Haizlip recalled.

“That’s what good teams like Rainier Beach do,” he explained. “They hang with you and they usually score in spurts, in chunks. We were trying to limit that, but they’re a good team and it’s a hard thing to do.”

The fourth quarter then saw the Spartans outscored 19-14, and missing some of the focus they came back so well with in the previous quarter.

“They never backed down,” Haizlip said of the Spartans. “We’re going to be fine.”

There had been only two outings this year, the coach said, when he did not see the team give their all.

“Garfield (Dec. 11, away) and Prep (Dec. 18, away) were the only ones where I thought we weren’t really there,” he said. “Every other game is right there.”

Haizlip praised the team’s character and perseverance amidst the competition of such a tough season.

“In Metro right now, every team is really good,” he said. “I wouldn’t say there’s any one particular team we’re scared of. They’re all really good, but if we play hard we’ll come out on top.

“Records really don’t matter,” he added. “At the end of the day, when this is all said and done, we all go home.”

BHS’ Lyle Terry led the Spartan scoring efforts with 21 points total against Beach.

Brendan Burke put up 16, Marcus Clyde managed eight and Miles Gori chipped in seven.

This latest loss at home left the Spartans with an overall season record of 5-9 (1-8 in conference) and occupying the sixth spot in the Metro Mountain Division standings.

Seattle Prep remains in the top spot with an overall record of 10-6.

Regardless of the opponent, Haizlip said that the team will prepare in the same manner and come ready to play just as hard as they can.

“I think right now our biggest competition is ourselves,” Haizlip said. “Once we figure out to string together four solid quarters — four consistent quarters, I should say — we’re going to get a ‘W.’”