Islanders use third-quarter swing to beat Rebels | Prep boys basketball

Nordale, Scott lead second-half charge as Mercer Island pulls away.

December 16, 2015 3:16 am
Mercer Island's Shain Scott (21) evades Juanita defender Danny Eason off a pick from teammate Josh Stenberg (3) during the first half of the Islanders' game against the Rebels Tuesday
Mercer Island's Shain Scott (21) evades Juanita defender Danny Eason off a pick from teammate Josh Stenberg (3) during the first half of the Islanders' game against the Rebels Tuesday

Mercer Island came out sluggish in its Tuesday night 2A/3A KingCo league matchup against the Juanita Rebels. Neither team shot particularly well through two quarters, and the Islanders planned to remedy their struggles by going inside in the second half.

The plan worked, though not exactly the way they thought it would.

Behind a 24-point third quarter that saw the Islanders knock down four 3-point shots, Mercer Island pulled away to beat the Rebels 66-53 at Juanita High School.

Sam Nordale and Shain Scott sank two 3-pointers apiece in that pivotal third quarter, when the floodgates seemed to finally open through drive-and-kick possessions.

“We were really trying to get the ball inside-out,” said Scott, who finished with 11 points. “In the first half, we were settling for 3’s really early in the possession. Something that we’re working on is getting inside-out by making guys collapse down inside to open up shooters on the outside. That’s something we really did well in the second half.”

Mercer Island (4-1, 1-1) led 15-10 after the first quarter, though gave up a 3-pointer to Juanita’s Brighton Maughan to close the period. The Rebels (3-3, 1-2) reeled off another eight unanswered points to start the second and take an 18-15 advantage. The two teams traded leads five times before the Islanders scored the final four points of the half and took a 26-23 lead into the break.

Mercer Island coach Gavin Cree told his team at halftime they had to bring a different mentality of wanting to attack the basket.

“There was just no intensity in the first half,” Cree said. “It was kind of a sleepy Tuesday night in December and we just didn’t have the energy that we needed to have.”

Nordale said he was frustrated by his team’s overall defensive effort to open the game, which fueled him to come out strong after the half.

“We were just playing really lackadaisical, so I was looking to inject as much energy in the guys as possible,” he said. “We weren’t rotating well, we were jogging down the court and just [playing] sloppy.”

Nordale scored eight points in the third quarter as the Islanders used a 13-2 run to pull away. That stretch featured two 3-pointers from Nordale and another from Scott, as the Islander lead grew to 14.

“We’re a good shooting team and we know it,” Scott said. “Sometimes you’re just not hitting, but you got to stay confident and keep shooting.”

Mercer Island didn’t allow Juanita to get closer than seven the rest of the way. Five Islanders scored in double figures, with Nordale leading all scorers with 19 points. Griffin Emanuels scored 12, Scott and Josh Stenberg each had 11, and Andrew Pickles finished with 10 points.

AJ Peacocke led Juanita with 13 points, while Maughan had 11. Ravi Regan-Hughes and Emrah Cizmic each scored 10.

Next, Mercer Island will take on Interlake at 8 p.m. Friday, Dec. 18 at Interlake High School. Juanita will host Ballard at 6 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 19 at Juanita High School.