The Mount Si boys basketball team got back on track last week, giving solid efforts in both games they played against Mercer Island and Liberty.

The Wildcats traveled to Mercer Island last Tuesday, Jan. 20, and gave it their best efforts against the Islanders. Key turnovers and a big technical foul down the stretch doomed the Wildcats, though, as they fell 66-62 to MI.

Tanner Riley scored 24 points, but a late technical foul, the second in as many games for Mount Si’s star junior, resulted in his night ending early and was key to the Islanders’ late charge.

Peter Zajac scored 20 to lead the Islanders, while Jonathan Poli added 14 to pace MI.

The Islanders opened with the early lead behind Poli and Robbie Taylor’s strong outside shooting. Taylor finished with nine points. The second half was back and forth until the Wildcats appeared to take control in the fourth. Up six at 61-55 with 2:42 left, Mount Si appeared to be in good shape, but then the Islanders mounted their rally. Mercer Island took the lead with 24 seconds to go, then forced one last Wildcat turnover to seal the contest.

Mount Si used a strong second half and another great night from Riley to easily beat the Liberty Patriots last Friday night, Jan. 23.

Riley scored 35 points, and Nelson added 19, as the Wildcats rolled over the Patriots, 72-51, in the game at Liberty High School. Chandler Jenkins scored 14 to lead Liberty.

“I was getting open, getting the shots,” Riley said. “I took a lot of shots tonight; that’s why I had so many points, but a lot of teammates hit me when I was open.”

“It was a good game,” said Mount Si coach Jeff D’Ambrosio.” They played, I think, a lot better defense.”

The team has been working harder on defense and rebounding, “and I think we did a nice job,” the coach said.

The game was close for much of the first half, and both teams played with intensity. The passion spread to the two schools’ student sections, who were both also very much in the contest the entire game with their various cheers. The Wildcats tried to pull away late in the first half through a Dallas Smith three-pointer with 90 seconds left which gave Mount Si a 33-25 lead at that point. But then Eric Peterson and Turner Chatterton each hit baskets down the stretch to get the Patriots back in it, down 33-30 at the half.

Wildcat Taylor Campbell offered praise for Peterson.

“He’s a good post,” Campbell said. “He’s strong, he’s physical, he’ll throw you around if you’re not ready for it.”

The half for Liberty was marred by a technical foul called against Peterson early in the second quarter following a Patriot turnover.

Liberty remained in the contest through most of the third quarter, even tying it at 39-39 with four minutes left in the frame on a Peterson bucket. Riley, Nelson and Smith then went to work for the Wildcats, helping them to a 10-0 run to close out the quarter and give Mount Si a 49-39 lead headed to the final frame. Riley and Nelson continued to lead the way for the Wildcats in the fourth, enabling Mount Si to go up as many as 14 at 57-43, before Eric Etter hit a basket and Chatterton hit a pair of free throws to help Liberty close the deficit to within 10 again at 57-47.

Following the Chatterton free throws, Riley dunked the ball, and that set off a 13-4 Mount Si run which closed out the contest.

Smith finished with 10 to aid the Mount Si cause.

Mount Si heads to Juanita on Saturday, Jan. 31, set to make up a game which was postponed from Jan. 9 due to the terrible flooding in the Snoqualmie Valley. Game time is at 7:05 p.m. Riley is ready.

“From this point on, we don’t want to lose more games,” he said. “We just want to go in, really take it to them and get them out of the game early.”