Wildcat boys play hard, but lose three

Published 8:46 pm Thursday, October 2, 2008

Despite holding a three-point lead heading into the fourth quarter, the Mount Si boys’ basketball team couldn’t hang on against Mercer Island to open last week’s action, losing the game 51-50.

“We had them where we wanted. We didn’t execute. We didn’t make some shots down the line [toward] the end of the game … we let them off the hook, no question,” said a disappointed Mount Si coach Garrick Phillips.

Senior Patrick Frost scored 15 points to lead the Islanders, while Erik Tierney and Luke Landdeck led Mount Si with 14 points each.

“We played aggressive and it’s good that we played aggressive. We kept the intensity up and we did well intensity wise,” said the Wildcats’ senior forward Jarrod Wiegardt.

Mercer Island opened with a strong outside scoring binge, hitting seven three-pointers to break out to an early lead. The Wildcats rallied to within four points of the lead at halftime, 33-29, then Mount Si’s defense turned it up.

The Wildcats had the Islanders on the ropes, but missed a number of critical shot opportunities late, and the Islanders escaped with the win. Tierney missed a desperation shot with no time left on the clock, as Mercer Island stayed unbeaten in Kingco 3A.

Mount Si was unable to build off the great effort against the Islanders, however, as the Wildcats dropped a 20-point decision to division leader Sammamish Jan. 23 at Sammamish.

The Totems outscored Mount Si 23-7 in the decisive third quarter, and Sammamish maintained its hold on the Valley Division lead with a 60-39 blowout. The Totems shot an amazing 75 percent from the floor in the second half, and got a strong effort from Jordan Estill, who scored 15 for the Totems to lead all scorers. Luke Landdeck was the only double-figure scorer for the Wildcats, scoring 13 to lead Mount Si.

Colby Wick scored 14, and Thomas Bright added 12 to pace the Totems’ victory.

Mount Si returned home Saturday to face a ranked Seattle Prep squad in a nonleague matchup, rescheduled following the snowstorms of earlier this month. It was a good night for two Wildcats, Tierney and Jeremy Johnston, as the pair scored 16 and 14 points, respectively, to lead Mount Si. That, however, was not enough as the Panthers rolled out to a quick early lead, and, despite many comeback attempts by the Wildcats, held on for the victory.

The 56-48 decision in favor of Prep was keyed by the offensive efforts of senior guard Chad Troyer, who scored 16 points to lead the Metro League Panthers, while sophomore post Spencer Hawes added 15 to pace Prep.

“I thought they played well. I think Mount Si’s a good team, they’ve just come up short in a few games and we’re lucky to win,” said Panthers coach Chris Miller, as his team continued their strong play despite not having their best player, Martell Webster.

Webster, a junior post for the Panthers, who has been named by several recruiting services as one of the top high-school junior players in the country, has been out all year with what has been reported to be a foot injury.

“He’s coming back [this] week, we think, and so, we’re going to be a much better team,” said Miller.

Phillips still thinks highly of the Martell-less Panthers.

“Even without him, they’re a very talented group. They already have, I think, two Division I kids that have already signed for scholarships on that team,” said Phillips.

Mount Si plays Cedarcrest Thursday, and Liberty Friday. Both games are home contests, with tipoffs at 7:30 p.m.