Kangs rally late to stun Islanders | Prep boys basketball

By Joseph Livarchik • January 7, 2017 4:45 am
Mercer Island’s Griffin Emanuels looks to pass against Lake Washington defenders Griffin Barker (11) and Sam Linsky Friday at Lake Washington High School. The Kangs rallied to beat the Islanders 61-60 (Joe Livarchik/staff photo).
Mercer Island’s Griffin Emanuels looks to pass against Lake Washington defenders Griffin Barker (11) and Sam Linsky Friday at Lake Washington High School. The Kangs rallied to beat the Islanders 61-60 (Joe Livarchik/staff photo).

For the majority of Friday’s KingCo 3A matchup against Lake Washington, Mercer Island appeared poised to be cruising to its fifth league victory of the season.

And then, everything seemed to come to a grinding halt.

Behind nine fourth-quarter points from junior guard Beau Heimdahl and a late bucket from sophomore big man Griffin Barker, Lake Washington capped a furious second-half rally to beat Mercer Island 61-60 Friday night at Lake Washington High School.

Three players scored in double figures for Lake Washington, with Heimdahl leading the way with a game-high 18 points, as the Kangs battled back from a 15-point second-half deficit to come from behind.

Afterward, Mercer Island coach Gavin Cree lamented the Islanders’ missed opportunities down the stretch.

“We missed layups. That was most of it,” Cree said. “We missed layups and we just didn’t make the plays all around. We didn’t get stops, we didn’t make our easy shots and we had a couple key empty possessions.”

Mercer Island (5-6, 4-2 in KingCo) was on fire from deep early on, knocking down four 3-pointers in the first quarter to claim a 22-15 lead at the end of the opening period. The Kangs (6-4, 2-3) fought back, with a 3-pointer from Heimdahl giving Lake Washington a 25-24 lead, their first of the game, with 3:23 left to go in the second quarter.

Mercer Island quickly took back control off a basket from Shain Scott and finished the half on a 13-3 run to lead 37-28 at the break. The Islanders increased their advantage to 15 in the third quarter before Lake Washington closed the period with a 9-2 run of its own to trail Mercer Island 50-42.

In the fourth, Mercer Island saw a 10-point advantage quickly whittle down. The Kangs made the contest a one-point game on three separate occasions, with Heimdahl the offensive culprit each time, penetrating for layups through the Mercer Island defense. After Mercer Island couldn’t convert on a one-and-one opportunity, Barker sank what proved to be the difference-maker with 17 seconds left.

Cree said the difference of the game for his team came on the defensive end.

“We got beat on penetration,” he said. “We didn’t play connected, so we’ve gotta just really buckle down at the end of the game to make sure that we’re doing everything possible to not let people get to the basket. We’ve gotta get stops.”

Griffin Emanuels led Mercer Island with 15 points, while Joe Gormley added 12 for the Islanders. Barker finished with 15 points for the Kangs. Senior guard Sam Linsky added 12.

Next, Mercer Island will take on Juanita at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Juanita High School. Lake Washington hosts Sammamish at 8 p.m. Monday at Lake Washington High School.