The Mercer Island boys won the KingCo tournament title Thursday evening, beating the regular season league champs Bellevue 53-48. The win earns the team a No. 1 seed going into the SeaKing district tournament, which begins Saturday, and another step closer to the state tournament.

The Islanders controlled the first half of the match, ending two quarters with a 25-21 score. Bellevue regrouped in the third quarter, hoping to secure the title for themselves, ending the third with a 38-37 lead over the Islanders. But a 16 point quarter, while holding Bellevue to just 10 in the last minutes of the game, gave the Islanders the title.

Quinn Sterling earned 15 points for the team, while Derek Newhof had 12 and Kaj Sherman had 11. Sean Hughes put up five for the Islanders, while Jeff Lindquist added four and Sam Cohn, Ben Emanuels and Joe Rasmussen each had two.

The Islanders will play their first district game on Tuesday, Feb. 15 at 8:15 p.m. at Bellevue College against the winner of the Chief Sealth, Eastside Catholic game on Saturday.