The Mercer Island boys basketball team finished the regular season with a win over Lake Washington on Thursday, Jan. 31. With the victory the team wrapped a one-loss KingCo season, winning the league title. The team finished the regular season 13-1.

Against Lake Washington, Mercer Island won 43-25.

The Islanders were up 20-7 at the end of the first quarter, having held the Kangs scoreless until the last two minutes of the quarter. The Islanders slowed offensively a bit in the second quarter, scoring nine points, while Lake Washington hit four. The score was 29-11 at halftime.

After the break, Lake Washington tried to pull the game within reach, scoring seven points to the Islander eight in the third quarter. Though the Kangs were successful in outscoring Mercer Island 7-6 in the final minutes of the game, it couldn’t match the early lead Mercer Island had earned.

Nick Nordale scored 18 points for the Islanders and Kaleb Warner added 11 to the final score. Max Tilden had six points in the game, Jake Shaddle added three and David Emanuels posted two points.

The KingCo tournament begins this weekend for some teams, but as the No. 1 team, Mercer Island earns a bye in the first round. The team will play the winner of the Liberty vs. Juanita game on Tuesday, Feb. 7 at 6:30 p.m. at Bellevue College. The winner of that game moves on to the KingCo championship on Thursday, Feb. 9. Win or lose the Islanders are guaranteed a spot in the SeaKing District tournament the following week.