Mount Si survives Saints’ third-quarter rally

Published 9:35 pm Thursday, October 2, 2008

SNOQUALMIE — Mount Si High School’s Isaiah Cormier

led the boys’ basketball team with 25 points last Friday night at

home against the Interlake Saints to clinch yet another win for

the Wildcats.

Cormier’s first basket of the night, which came early in the

first quarter, set a precedent for the rest of the game. The Wildcats took

to the court ready to stave off anything the Saints threw at them

— be it arms, entire bodies and even last-minute three-pointers

made by Interlake’s Andre Piper-Jordan.

The Wildcats led throughout the first quarter with the help

of Vince Longbucco’s two points and Mike Dahm’s

three-point shot. Sophomore Logan Ratcliffe also helped the cause with his

two-point shot in the last minute of the quarter to keep Mount

Si’s lead at two.

Mount Si came back even tougher in the second quarter

with a well-orchestrated pass from Cormier to Michael Dollinter

and then back to Cormier, who shot it in with the poise of a

professional. This shot, along with Longbucco’s two points,

upped the Wildcat lead to 17-11. From there, Mount Si didn’t look

back, going into halftime with a 29-17 lead.

Interlake came back ready to pounce on the Wildcats in

the third quarter, and the Saints’ fans also came back with a

vengeance. The sound of their feet pounding on the bleachers and

students screaming on their team echoed in the gymnasium, spurring

the Saints to close the gap to 33-31.

With 3:19 left on the clock in the third quarter, Interlake’s

Brice Mathews tied the score at 33. Seconds later, Cormier took it to

the basket, increasing the Wildcats lead by two with only 2:12 left

in the quarter. That was followed by another basket by Mount

Si’s Brett Bergstrom, boosting the lead to four.

Interlake reciprocated with two points by Michael Allan

with only 54 seconds left on the clock. After a missed Interlake

attempt, Cormier worked some more of his magic to rebound the shot

and score another two points, increasing the lead once again to

four points with only 49 seconds left. A flurry of Mount Si shooting

increased the `Cats’ lead 44-35. The third quarter ended when

Interlake cut the lead to six with a three-pointer by Piper-Jordan.

In the fourth quarter, Ratcliffe’s two points followed

by a three-pointer in the first two minutes of the quarter pulled

the Wildcats safely ahead of the Saints. Mount Si was able to

keep the Saints at bay for the next two minutes of the game with a

lead of 55-44.

With 3:18 left in the fourth quarter, the Saints came back

to within six points of Mount Si. The game got even more

interesting when Interlake’s Piper-Jordan fouled out with only 2:55 left

in the quarter. The score narrowed to 60-55 with only 1:24 left to

go in the game. Interlake’s Bryce Mackay made two more points

for Interlake, narrowing the spread to within three.

Foul shots dominated the rest of the quarter as the Wildcats

and the Saints took turns making baskets. With only 11 seconds

left and the score at 63-59, another foul was called on Interlake,

giving the Wildcats yet another chance to go to the

line. Longbucco sank both shots, and Interlake brought it down

the court in the last 10 seconds, missed, then made the

put-back to draw within four points, making the final score of the game

65-61.