Mercer Island boys push undefeated Bellevue to the limit

Some games get decided early on. In others, there is more of a feeling of chance and opportunity to make it an exciting four quarters of basketball to watch and play.

Friday night, when the Mercer Island boys hosted Bellevue, it was definitely the latter option. The game between KingCo leading undefeated Bellevue and the 4-6 Islanders was one where only a basket or two separated the winner and the loser. For four quarters, that is how the game played out. For head coach Gavin Cree and the team, who played for Pepple, it was an exciting and emotional night.

“In an electric atmosphere like Friday night, we try to channel the emotion in the building to focus for our team,” said Cree. “As a player, you are always anxious to tip-off, but the nerves should go away once you break a sweat. Our guys really wanted to win that game — Bellevue is our biggest rival, and with Coach Pepple being honored, it was a spirited evening.”

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The Islanders started off the evening, following the dedication of the gym to former head coach Ed Pepple, down by two points at the end of the first. Then, in the second quarter, Mercer Island found their groove, making plays and keeping Bellevue from consistently scoring to earn the first solid lead of the game. For the rest of the second quarter, and to the end of the third, the Islanders had the upper hand, barely holding off the Wolverines past paced offense, fueled by leading starter Aaron Bright.

“We executed our offense really well in the first half and crashed the offensive boards for tip-ins and put backs,” said Cree of the Islanders’ game in the first 16 minutes. “In the second half, we got away from our execution. We didn’t get the ball inside to our big men who had mismatches all game. We need to realize that no one can stop us man-to-man if we execute and get the ball where it needs to go.”

It wasn’t until the last minute of the third quarter that Bellevue’s foul shots gave the Wolverines a small lead, 48-49, going into the last eight minutes of the game. The Islanders continued to fight, pushing the score back in their favor every chance they got. For a while, the crowd seemed to wonder if Mercer Island was going to get their big upset, beating the top team. That hope continued until the last three minutes of the game, when Bellevue — thanks to foul shots — gained the final lead, before finishing it off 67-59.

Cree said the team missed key blockouts and had mental errors in the last minutes of the game, which hurt the team, but because of a younger group of kids dominating the floor, he said the mental breaks are to be expected.

“It’s important for us to realize that we are still getting better as a unit,” said Cree. “Our young players are becoming more efficient, and our offense has picked up. Our trip to California helped us improve. We played some of the top teams in the west in Palm Springs. We’d love to have a better record to show for it, but we have improved dramatically as a basketball team, and we are still in line for our goal of being our best at the end of the season.”

Quinn Sterling led the Islanders with 18 points during the game, while fellow captain Kaj Sherman was close behind with 17 points. Brian Miller and Gabe Fructer each posted six for the team, while Ben Emanuels and Jeff Lindquist put up four points. Bellevue’s Bright had 17, while teammate Nate Sikma earned 20 for the Wolverines.