The Interlake Saints defeated the MIHS Boys Basketball team 68-64 in a tight matchup on Monday, Jan. 31.
The game marked the team’s Senior Night, and so before the game, the team’s three seniors Tony Swendrowski, Luke Reid and Ryan McCrary were recognized.
“All the seniors are really close, we’re all really good friends,” senior guard Tony Swendrowski said. “It was great that we could share this night together and all have fun.”
In the first quarter, the Islanders passed the ball well on offense, gaining an early lead. But the Saints played full-court defense leading to several turnovers, and the quarter ended 17-17.
In the second quarter, the Saints made several open three-pointers, but the Islanders fought back with strong defense and three-pointers of their own. The Saints led 39-37 going into halftime.
After halftime, the Saints extended their lead by creating turnovers and scoring easy shots. The Islanders didn’t have an answer for Interlake’s strong defense, and the third quarter ended 56-49 Saints.
Late in the fourth quarter, the Islanders finally found an offensive rhythm, driving the ball and making shots. They took the lead 61-60 with about two minutes left in the game.
Then Interlake responded with a layup to take the lead with 1:33 left in the game. The Islanders called a timeout to regroup.
However, Interlake stole the ball from the Islanders and scored another layup. With 20 seconds remaining, the score was 66-63 Saints.
The Islanders were forced to foul the Saints to give themselves a chance to win. However, the Saints player scored both free throws, sealing the game for Interlake.
Despite the loss, the Islanders had lots of fans to cheer them on as the 25% fan capacity restriction was lifted.
“It was great that we didn’t have any capacity restrictions and we could get a big crowd,” Swedrowski said.
The Boys Basketball team will hope to end the regular season with momentum while they face rival Bellevue on Tuesday, Feb. 1.
“We got one regular-season game left, and that determines where we’re going to be seeded and what comes after that [in the playoffs],” Swendrowski said.
