Franklin used a fourth-quarter offensive explosion to stymie the Spartans 65-43 in boys basketball late last week.

Bainbridge didn’t leave out the welcoming mat, however, for the visiting Quakers, currently ranked No. 3 in the state.

The Spartans led 13-11 at the end of the first quarter and trailed by just a point, 27-26, at halftime.

Franklin pulled away with four minutes left in the fourth quarter, and outshot Bainbridge 25-8.

“I was proud of our boys,” said Spartan Coach Scott Orness.  “We showed we can compete with the best in the state and this game gave my young team a lot of confidence.”

“We always go for two wins in a game — one on the scoreboard and the other win comes by playing hard, smart and together for 32 minutes,” he added. “We battled to the end.”

Franklin’s Patrick Ball led all scorers with 24.

Joey Blacker paced Bainbridge with 19 points.

Fellow Spartans Oskar Dieterich and Blake Swanson poured in 10 points each. Dieterich also pulled down eight rebounds, and Swanson had eight assists.

Kyle Jackson and Greg Shea each contributed two points for Bainbridge.

The Spartans are now 1-2 in the Metro League (5-2 overall).

This week will start with a tough challenge for the Spartans.

Bainbridge will play Rainier Beach in Seattle on Tuesday, Dec. 19.

Rainier Beach (3-1 Metro, 3-1 overall) is the top-ranked 3A team in the state.