Season ends at districts for Mercer Island boys | Prep boys basketball

Mercer Island hung tight with Rainier Beach through one half of their 3A SeaKing district loser-out game, but saw the Vikings pull away after halftime to beat the Islanders 65-48 Saturday, Feb. 20 at Bellevue College.

February 22, 2016 1:53 pm

Mercer Island hung tight with Rainier Beach through one half of their 3A SeaKing district loser-out game, but saw the Vikings pull away after halftime to beat the Islanders 65-48 Saturday, Feb. 20 at Bellevue College. The Vikings earned the fifth and final berth to the 3A state tournament’s regional round.

Rainier Beach (18-6) led 14-12 after one and 28-26 at the half, but increased its lead to double digits to close the third quarter, ahead 45-35. The Vikings continued to pull away in the final period.

Sam Nordale and Andrew Pickles led the Islanders (18-8), each scoring 14 points. Khalil Shabazz led the Vikings with 12 points.

Mercer Island All-KingCo selections

Five Islander basketball players were recognized by the 3A KingCo Conference in its annual all-league selections.

Josh Stenberg was named to the All-KingCo first team, while Sam Nordale and Andrew Pickles earned second team honors. Earning honorable mention were Griffin Emanuels and Emerson Schulz.