Washington High School Basketball - Bellevue nudges Mercer Island
February 3, 2009: Mercer Island, WA 98040 In Tuesday's league outing, the Bellevue Wolverines (Bellevue, WA) basketball squad edged the host Mercer Island Islanders (Mercer Island, WA), by a count of 58-53.
The Wolverines (17-1) will now prepare for their outing against Mount Si (Snoqualmie, WA). The Wildcats go into the 3A KingCo outing with a 10-5 record.
The Islanders now hold a 12-6 record. They take the field next when they travel to Sammamish for a 3A KingCo outing on Friday, February 6. Mercer Island will encounter a Totems squad coming off a 57-52 league win over Interlake (Bellevue, WA). The Totems record now stands at 7-11.
First Quarter
Robbie Taylor came out smokin' with two quick 3 pointers, along with buckets by Poli and two by Zajac anfd the Islanders jumped to an early lead . Bellevue fought back behind 6 points by Aaron Bright and Bellevue took a 15 - 14 quarter lead
Second Quarter
A defensive struggle in the second quarter, 12-10, and the Islanders took the lead at the half 26-25. Bellevue had already shot 13 free throws - the Islanders had yet to get to the line
Third Quarter
The Wolverines came out with a vengeance to start the third quarter, sparked by Bright's 9 points and 5 by Alex Locke. MI struggled agaist intense full court pressure and trailed after 3 quarters 46-38
Fourth Quarter
MI failed to fold , however, getting 3's from Taylor, Zajac and Sterling to outscore Bellevue 15- 12. In the final analysis it was free throw shooting which made the difference. Bellevue shot 18 FTs in the fourth quarter while making only 2 FGs. The final stats showed Bellevue having 36 free throw opportunities , while the Islanders went to the foul line only 7 times. MI made 22 Field goals
to only 18 for the state's #1 rated team. A great effort, but Bellevue prevailed 58-53
