On Friday, Mercer Island didn't have too much trouble with Damonte Ranch on the road as they won 68-51. The victory was all the more spectacular given Mercer Island's disadvantage in MaxPreps's basketball rankings in their respective home states (they are ranked 60th in Washington, while Damonte Ranch is ranked third in Nevada).
Mercer Island's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Will Mcdonald led the charge by scoring 19 points. Another player making a difference was Tristen Cruzen, who scored 16 points.
Damonte Ranch lost despite a true team effort on the offense, the best among them being Jace Anderson, who dropped a double-double on 13 points and 13 rebounds. Anderson scored a full 25.5% of Damonte Ranch's points, the fourth time in a row he's earned more than a third of the team's points. The team also got some help courtesy of Jiro Basabas, who scored 15 points.
Mercer Island's win bumped their record up to 6-3. As for Damonte Ranch, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 11-2.
Mercer Island and Westmont will face off at 3:00 p.m. on December 30th without much rest after finishing up games yesterday. Damonte Ranch and Hawaii Baptist Academy will face off at 10:30 a.m. on December 30th without much rest after finishing up games yesterday.
