Following their first conference win of the season, the Mercer Island boys basketball team beat Inglemoor 50-46 in a non-conference game Saturday, Dec. 7 at Inglemoor High School. With the win, the Islanders improved to 3-0 overall on the year.

The Islanders got off to a slow start against the Vikings, finding themselves trailing Inglemoor 16-8 after the first quarter and 30-21 at halftime. But Mercer Island responded with a strong second half, cutting the deficit to five by the end of the third quarter and storming back with 15-6 run in the fourth quarter to secure the victory. Gabe Boucad led the Islanders in scoring with 14 points while adding 2 steals. Senior captain Chris Lawler had 13 points, while the other senior captain, Jake Stenberg, had 7 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 steals. Teddy van der Velden had 4 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and 3 blocks for Mercer Island, and Ethan Chen added 4 points and 3 steals.

The night before, the Islanders earned their first KingCo conference victory with a 57-48 win over Sammamish at Mercer Island High School. It was a close affair in the first half, as both teams exchanged the lead before heading into halftime with the Islanders down 30-28. Mercer Island came out strong in the second half, closing the third quarter ahead 42-39 and never looked back.

Senior captain Chris Lawler led the Islanders in scoring against the Totems with 14 points, and Andrew Pickles added 8 points. Teddy van der Velden had 7 points, 4 assists and a block for Mercer Island, while Jack Counihan and Gabe Boucaud each contributed 6 points. Nick Taylor had 6 points and 8 rebounds, and senior captain Jake Stenberg had 6 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals.

This weekend, Mercer Island will travel to Juanita High School to take on the Rebels Friday, Dec. 13, followed by a trip to Mount Si to take on the Wildcats Saturday, Dec. 14. Both games will begin at 8 p.m.