Stepping to the free throw line with Mercer Island and Sammamish tied 41-41 and less than a second remaining in regulation, Josh Stenberg said he only had one thing on his mind before shooting his first of two free throws.

“I was thinking, ‘money,’” Stenberg said. “I was thinking I was going to make it. I was just staying positive.”

After drawing a crucial foul in the game’s closing moments, Stenberg sank both free throws with 0.8 seconds left in regulation to help send the Islanders past the Totems 43-41 Friday night at MIHS. Mercer Island improved to 14-5 on the season and 9-1 in the KingCo standings.

Stenberg scored the Islanders’ final five points, though his free throws were Mercer Island’s only points in the game’s final two minutes. Sammamish (14-4, 6-4) was amidst a 9-1 run down the stretch, with the Totems’ Michael Shinaul sinking two clutch free throws of his own, tying the game 41-41 with 19 seconds left.

Coming out of a timeout with the shot clock turned off, Mercer Island coach Gavin Cree said the Islanders were primarily looking to advance the ball beyond halfcourt.

“We were going to call another timeout, but we ended up breaking their pressure and we had an opportunity to kind of go,” Cree said. “I just decided to let Josh go for it and he made a really gutsy play going to the hoop.”

After finding daylight, Stenberg said his objective was to stay aggressive and attack the lane.

“We were looking for a pick-and-roll with me up top and [Andrew] Pickles setting the screen, which works best for us,” Stenberg said.

Sammamish had one final opportunity, but suffered a turnover on its final inbound play. Having to go the length of the court, the Totems saw a full-court pass attempt disappear in the ceiling rafters.

Stenberg led the Islanders in scoring with eight points, while Andrew Pickles and Sam Nordale each had six. Sammamish’s Vlad Yadevich led all scorers with 13 points, and Shinaul had 10 for the Totems.

On an evening where none of the Islanders reached double figures in scoring but still escaped with a win, Cree was happy his team was able to overcome a resilient Sammamish effort in a hard-fought contest.

“That’s a really good team over there and this was only their fourth loss of the season,” Cree said. “They’ve lost to Bellevue twice and us twice, but our two games could’ve gone either way [with] a couple plays at the end. Over at their place, we made some big shots at the end that separated us. Here, we were up, they made a couple shots at the end to get close and Josh made the two free throws. I definitely expected it to be a close game.”

Mercer Island finishes its regular season this week, hosting Lake Washington at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday night at MIHS, followed by the KingCo finale at Bellevue High School against the Wolverines at 8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 6.