The Mercer Island boys basketball team exceeded expectations this season by being a player for the league title until the final week of the regular season and finishing with 16 wins. But the overachieving came to an end on Feb. 24, when the Islanders lost during the first round of the district playoffs to Chief Sealth, 74-67.

“Not a person alive expected us to win that many games,” said Mercer Island coach Ed Pepple. “To be one step from playing Rainier Beach and possibly move on, I am proud of them.”

To be exact, Mercer Island was five points and two minutes from a showdown with Beach. But the pace of the game and the scoreboard told a different story for most of the contest.

The Islanders kept pace with the Seahawks through the first quarter, despite falling behind by six points. A basket by senior Jon Poli inside the key with 12 seconds left in the first, tied the score at 15-15. But Sealth used its athleticism and speed to spark a 10-0 run and a 25-15 lead. The inability to break the run, or defend against the Seahawks’ fast break, punished the Islanders all game.

“We are not used to playing a team like that,” said senior Thomas Ehlers. “We have been the underdog all year, and coach Pepple made us work.”

Mercer Island worked hard just to keep pace and finished the half down by seven points.

“We have played together the entire year with the whole philosophy of proving people wrong,” said senior Peter Zajac.

The Mercer Island players would need that ideal and togetherness following a disastrous third quarter.

The Islanders made Chief Sealth senior guard Jordan Kidd look like both Michael Jordan and Jason Kidd.

“We watched him on film, and he is quick,” said Poli. “I have never experienced playing a player like that. His body control was really surprising.”

Kidd finished the third quarter with 14 points, the same amount that he had during the entire first half. The explosion lifted the Seahawks to an 18-point lead halfway through the third. Kidd finished the game with 31 points, six rebounds and four assists.

“It was hard to come back,” said Islander freshman Brian Miller, who had one of his best games of the year with eight points and eight rebounds. “But we had a lot of confidence.”

A lot of that confidence came from the hot hand of Mercer Island senior Robbie Taylor. Taylor’s second three-pointer during the second half cut the lead to 63-53 and brought the quiet Islander faithful back to their feet. From there, Taylor put the team on his back and hit two more three-pointers, finished the game with six three-pointers overall and led the Islanders with 18 points for the game.

“Thank God for Robbie Taylor,” said Poli. “He wanted to go out with a bang, and he did that.”

The run began to get to the Seahawks and Kidd. Mercer Island whittled down the lead to seven points before Kidd made a big mistake. Inbounding the ball on the Islanders’ end of the court, Kidd could not find a player to pass to. He decided to try bouncing it off a Mercer Island play and back out of bounds before the five-second in-bound clock expired. But the ball hit his arm before landing out of bounds.

Zajac, who scored 15 points during the game, would hit two big free-throws during the ensuing possession. The two shots gave the Islanders new life with less than two minutes remaining.

But a huge momentum shift would end Mercer Island’s season as the Seahawks regrouped for a 5-0 run.

Mercer Island finishes the season with a 9-3 in-league mark and a 16-11 overall record.