Tiffany Zhang

Mercer Island Boys Basketball dominated a wildly 76-42 win against Juanita High School on Senior Night, Tuesday, Jan. 31.

“I was pretty happy to have our regular season end on that high of a note, and for our team I think it just shows how much we’ve been improving over the last few weeks,” senior captain Jackson Bredy said. “We’ve gone against a lot of really intense competition leading up to this and so even though our record may not show how good of a team we are, I think our performance certainly did.”

Juanita advanced fast in the first quarter as Mercer Island struggled against their defense. However both teams tied up at the end of the quarter with a balanced score of 14-14.

“I think we’ve been doing a really good job working together and trusting each other, especially lately,” Bredy said. “We’ve done a much better job also of getting to the rim and attacking rather than just pulling threes.”

After a break, the Islanders began extending their lead in the second quarter leading them to a score of 34-19. Sophomore Will McDonald carried the team and scored a majority of the points during the quarter.

The Islanders continued to advance even more while keeping the score around the same ratio as the second quarter. The third quarter ended 64-33. Senior Derek Nordale scored many lay-ups and threes back to back.

Both teams were tired throughout the fourth quarter, however, the Islanders continued to maintain their lead. The game ended with a victory for the Islanders, 76-42.

For the six seniors, playing their last game of Mercer Island Basketball made for an especially emotional night.

“It felt pretty cool. A little bit poignant, I’d say,” Bredy said. “I realized it’s my last game of regular season [basketball] I’m gonna play in high school.”

The six seniors were celebrated prior to the game, where they were given flowers and gift boxes filled with blankets and photo collages before walking mid-court to take pictures with family.

“It was a little bit sad but it’s also hard not to be happy being on the court with all your friends,” Bredy said.

The Islanders hope to enter the playoffs with a win against Juanita, Saturday, Feb. 4.