Basketball Recap: Mercer Island's Higher State Rank on Full Display on Monday

On Monday, even if it wasn't a dominant performance, the Mercer Island Islanders beat the Verbum Dei Jesuit Eagles 58-53. Given the Islanders' advantage in MaxPreps' basketball rankings in their respective home states (they are ranked 94th in Washington, while the Eagles are ranked 534th in California), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Mercer Island had a senior duo take command as William McDonald posted 20 points and five rebounds and Michael Mcdonald went 6 of 10 from beyond the arc on his way to 20 points. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Mcdonald has scored all season. The team also got some help courtesy of Tristen Cruzen, who put up 11 points and five boards.

Mercer Island was working as a unit and finished the game with 12 assists. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Verbum Dei Jesuit only racked up five assists.

Verbum Dei Jesuit lost despite a true team effort on offense, the best among them being Ryan Figueroa, who went 6 of 13 on his way to 20 points. The team also got some help courtesy of Jaythan Pinckney, who dropped a double-double on 14 points and 16 boards.

Mercer Island now has a winning record of 6-5. As for Verbum Dei Jesuit, they have been struggling recently as they've lost eight of their last ten contests, which put a noticeable dent in their 6-8 record this season.

Mercer Island will take on Highline at 7:15 p.m. on January 7th. One thing working in Highline's favor is that they have posted at least 55 points in their last three games. As for Verbum Dei Jesuit, they will square off against Cabrillo at 5:00 p.m. on Friday. Cabrillo is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 63 points per game this season.