A couple Mercer Island eighth-grade basketball teams had strong showings last week during the annual Martin Luther King holiday tournament competition.

Mercer Island’s eighth-grade ETL (Eastside Travel League) basketball team posted a perfect 4-0 record to take the top spot in the Martin Luther King Youth Holiday Hoopfest, hosted by Friends of Hoops Seattle.

The Islanders defeated teams from Lake Washington and Shorecrest to face a tough Meadowdale team in the Gold Division pool play finals on Monday, Jan. 20. After trailing for much of the game, Mercer Island rallied to a 4-point lead and held on for a 42-38 victory.

The team consists of Greg Fuchs, Ethan Eason, Alex Platou, Matthew Boissoneault, Ian Renkes, Reid Martinez, Clayton Elwell, Robert Weaver, Giovanni Rocha, Matthew Hershkowitz, Griffin Emanuels and Parker Simpson. The team is coached by Brock Maybee and assistant coach Patrick Dunlop.

Mercer Island’s eighth-grade boys Cascade basketball team won the Mount Si Martin Luther King Wildcat Classic Tournament on Jan. 20, which qualifies them to compete in the Washington Middle School Basketball Championship in Spokane March 15-16.

The boys eighth-grade Cascade team also beat four teams to win the tournament, including wins against Issaquah in triple overtime, Mount Si and Kirkland’s Eastside Basketball Club. In the final game against Sammamish, Mercer Island won 31-30.

Coached by John Shaddle and Charlie Padgett, players include Zach El-Ghazzawy, Nathan Hillard, Hunter Bauman, Sam Bailey, Nikhil Nayar, Cameron Warnick, Emil Talerman, Sam Peckham, Will Hamilton, Ben Hauge, Alex Shanks and Aaron Tomaselli.