ARLINGTON — Stanwood took an early lead and aggressively defended it though size and strong shooting.

The Spartans defeated Arlington 68-59 on the Eagles’ home court, sending a frustrated Arlington team into the holidays with a tough loss to their biggest rival.

Stanwood wing Kale Schmidt had 24 points and three shots from three-point range to lead his team to the Dec. 16 win. He was effective inside the arc too, scoring two early baskets to give Stanwood a 6-0 lead. It took almost four and a half minutes for Arlington to get on the board as senior guard Cole Carpenter hit a jumper.

In the opening seconds of the second quarter, Arlington guard Will Heath brought the game within a basket for the first time since it had started and then within a point not long after but the Eagles struggled to build any momentum against Stanwood. Schmidt had nine points in the quarter, single-handedly matching Arlington’s output in the eight minutes leading up to halftime.

“We just didn’t click, we struggled against their height,” said Arlington coach Nick Brown.

Stanwood’s lead only continued to expand in the second half. While senior guard Lucas Larson managed 12 points against Stanwood in the fourth quarter, it was too late. Even with Stanwood starters Jordon Solvberg and Eric Chabot on their fourth fouls late in the third quarter, Brown said his guys were equally plagued by foul trouble and Stanwood made them pay by extracting points at the foul line.

In addition to Larson’s 17 points, Tyler Busby added 13 and Carpenter had 11 in the loss.

But Brown said that his team has yet to tap their full potential.

“We just haven’t broke out yet like I think we’re going to,” he said. “We’re starting to click, but we’re not there yet. We’re getting better, we’re improving. The kids are playing well. I’m proud of them.”

With snow postponing games against Monroe and M-P, Arlington resumes its schedule after Christmas at Lynden Dec. 29 and home against Meadowdale Dec. 30.