The Arlington Eagles defeated the Mount Vernon Bulldogs 76-51 in their non-conference season opener Tuesday night at Mount Vernon High School.

The Eagles came into the game fresh off of a strong display at the Garfield Jamboree where they managed to go undefeated in their two ten minute games, defeating both Issaquah and Timberline, two teams ranked by Maxpreps in the top 25 for both 3A and 4A Washington State Boys Basketball. 

In the first quarter, Arlington’s Drew Bryson (‘17) set the tone early by hitting two three-pointers and leading all scorers with eight points, diverting the Bulldogs’ defensive efforts to the perimeter, thus opening up opportunities for Brennon Wiersma (’16) down low, who finished with six points in the first quarter. The opening quarter ended with the Eagles up 16-12, and the Bulldogs relying on the three ball to stay in the game.

In the second quarter, Bryson went on to add another ten points, hitting two more threes. Again, the defensive focus for the Mount Vernon squad shifted outside, and Wiersma added another four points down low. Heading into the break, Arlington held a decent 32-22 lead, with Bryson spearheading the offensive effort for the Eagles with 18 points.

Coming out of halftime, Bryson began to focus his offensive efforts inside, driving and finishing at the rim multiple times in the second half. Donavan Sellgren scored seven of his thirteen points in the third quarter, taking some of the offensive load off the shoulders of Bryson.

Despite almost single handedly outscoring the Bulldogs in the first half, Bryson was far from finished in his scoring efforts, as he added another twelve points in the third, pushing his total to 30. The Eagles led 58-33 after the third quarter.

In the fourth, Bryson continued to get into the passing lane and disrupt the Bulldogs offense, and finished the game with 36, a career high for the junior guard. After the 76-51 win, Bryson didn’t seem the least bit tired.

“It’s pretty big to get off to a big start like this,” said Bryson. “I was kind of nervous coming in on how we were going to be.”

Bryson’s preseason concerns coincide with most followers of Wesco in regards to the Eagles, but the lack of size was no issue tonight in a win that highlighted Arlington’s speed and ability to free up shooters like Bryson.

“We’re hoping to come out with a victory this Friday and Saturday,” continued Bryson. When asked if he could tell he had scored his career high with 36, Bryson didn’t seem phased. “I knew I had around 30.”

Arlington moves to 1-0 overall after the blowout win and will face Snohomish at 7:00pm on Friday at Arlington High School.