After the fits and starts of the late regular season, the Mount Si

Wildcats started their playoff run Friday night with a game against Mercer Island

at Bellevue Community College. In a wild evening that saw the lead

change four times in the fourth quarter, the Islanders prevailed by a score of

52-50.

The contest determined third and fourth-place seeding for the

district tournaments, which commenced Tuesday afternoon at several

neutral sites.

Both teams turned in a full-bore, no holds barred 32-minutes of

play, accompanied by raucous sounds from the packed stands and the

thundering drumbeat of the Mercer Island band. Mount Si held a slim lead through

the first half of the game, finishing the first frame up 14-11 and the second with

a 23-22 advantage. Both teams finished the first two quarters red-faced

and winded, but went right back at it again in the third.

Mount Si pulled slightly ahead with Mike Dahm’s shot for two,

but at the 4:28 mark the Islanders finally took the lead. With one minute

remaining Sean Fallows’ three-pointer gave the `Cats another lead but the

Islanders again responded, finishing the period on the plus side of a

39-38 score.

In the fourth quarter it was time to get down and dirty. Marc Dahm

bulled his way between two Islander defenders and put Mount Si on top

41-40, but once again the Mercer Island squad responded to reassume the

lead. Then Dahm swished two of two from the charity line for a 43-41 Mount

Si advantage.

Again the Islanders fought back, retaking the lead. Senior `Cat

Chris Kaplan brought his team back within one point with a wild,

hanging-on-the-rim jam that brought thunder from

the stands. The Wildcats then went ahead 49-48 on Jason Arriaga’s basket,

but with under a minute to go disaster struck. Mercer Island’s Jason

Edwards stole the ball and then stole it again, intercepting a full-court pass to

Mount Si’s Mike Dahm. Edwards’ team converted on both plays and went up

52-49 with 20 seconds left.

Mount Si’s Isaiah Cormier scored his squad’s last point from the

free-throw line. The game ended with Kaplan rifling a

three-quarter-court heave that caromed off the

backboard. Kaplan and Cormier ended the night’s work with 12 points each.

The Islanders staggered away with the 52-50 victory and the chance

to play Seamount champion Kennedy High School. The Wildcats

returned to a quiet locker room, knowing they too would play again but not too

happy with the route they were taking.

Coach Garrick Phillips’ locker room announcement of the

KingCo 3A all-star squad boosted the team’s spirits somewhat. After the

KingCo 3A championship game _ won by Newport over Sammamish, 48-43

_ Jason Arriaga was introduced to the crowd as a first-team selectee,

having pulled down the second highest vote total among the league’s

coaches. Kaplan was named to the second team while Cormier was given an

honorable mention.

“We played really well,” said Phillips after the locker room

cleared. “We just had a couple of things go wrong at the end. I stressed the

outcome doesn’t come down to the last play. There were a lot of

opportunities we had.

“I’m proud of them,” he continued. “We win as a team and lose as a

team. We put ourselves in a position, finishing high enough to go one and we

will. If we play with emotion and play with effort, good things will happen.”

Tuesday night the Wildcats entered district play at Ingraham in North

Seattle against the Eagles of Cleveland High. The winner of the game

will continue playoff action this weekend.