Losing three games to one opponent in a season would be a dubious distinction for any team. Losing three games to the same opponent in a week would destroy most teams.
The Mercer Island boys basketball team managed to claw back from that scenario on Friday, clinching the No. 3 seed to the district tournament with a 56-48 victory against Juanita at Bellevue Community College.
The three losses came against rival Mount Si, one to end the regular season, one in a tie-breaker and one on Thursday.
“Every game was hard fought, a war,” said Mercer Island coach Ed Pepple. “It is not like they blew us out in any of the games.”
The first two losses were by a combined four points. They also forced Mercer Island into a loser-out game against Sammamish on Feb. 17, in which the Islanders continued to struggle. The Islanders won the game 33-27 against a team that finished the regular season with a 3-9 record.
Despite the lack-luster performance, the Islanders bounced back to push Mount Si to the limit once more during the KingCo tournament semifinals.
Islander Quinn Sterling began the game by scoring his team’s first eight points. But Sterling’s performance was not enough to push Mercer Island to a decent lead. A buzzer-beating shot by teammate Jon Poli allowed Mercer Island to take a 22-20 lead into halftime.
A 9-2 run by the Wildcats to finish the third quarter gave the team a 35-31 advantage.
Islander Peter Zajac tied the game at 40-40 with 2:30 left in the game, but that was as close as Mercer Island would get as Mount Si finished with a 9-0 run.
“I hope we have a chance to get them at districts,” said Sterling.
The same story played out against Juanita, as Mercer Island dominated the first half. A Zajac three-pointer during the second quarter gave Mercer Island a 21-10 lead, capping a 10-0 run. Zajac led all scorers for the game with 19 points.
A buzzer-beating offensive rebound and shot by Islander Gabe Frutcher gave Mercer Island a huge 33-17 advantage at halftime.
“We played a really good first half,” said Pepple. “But we let our guard down and relaxed. We are not good enough to play at half speed.”
Sterling carried the team through the third quarter by scoring eight of the team’s 12 points, pulling down six rebounds and grabbing two steals.
“Quinn played another sterling game,” said Pepple with a straight face. “But we are still looking for more guys to get the job done.”
That is because Mercer Island faded during the fourth quarter. An 18-point lead dissolved. A 15-4 Rebel run put Mercer Island back on its heels as Juanita eventually cut the lead to four points, 52-48, with just 33.3 seconds remaining. Key free throws and the play of Sloan Aikens helped to clinch the victory. Aikens’ performance will not show up in the box score, but the junior guard made key plays to keep possessions alive, along with two key assists and two rebounds.
“He makes a lot of plays that go unnoticed,” said Pepple.
The Islanders will try to get noticed this week during the district playoffs, as they took on Chief Sealth on Tuesday (after Reporter deadline) at Mercer Island High School. With a victory, the Islanders will play tomorrow night against Rainier Beach with a chance to advance to state.
