The Mount Si boys basketball team gave their best effort of the year last Tuesday, Feb. 9, and it paid big dividends.
The Wildcats, using 22 points from their star, Tanner Riley, and a solid defensive effort which slowed down Bellevue’s best player, Aaron Bright, led the Wolverines from start to finish and shocked Bellevue 63-50. Justin Downer scored 15 to pace Mount Si while Nate Sikma led the Wolverines with 23 points.
“When we woke up this morning, there was a vibe at school,” Riley said after the game. “Everybody’s talking about it; it was all over Facebook. Everybody was believing, and that’s all we needed, for everybody to believe in us.”
“We played just terrific defense and that spurred our offense,” said Mount Si coach Jeff D’Ambrosio. “This was the most complete game we’ve played in the three years I’ve been here.”
Mount Si broke out to a 14-6 lead after one quarter, then steadily built it up. The Wildcats held a 29-18 advantage at halftime, then proceeded behind a couple of clutch threes from Downer in the third quarter to extend that to 21 points, 51-30, after three periods.
Mount Si’s defense did a number on Bright all game long. He was limited to just four points in the first half, and did not get into double figures until late in the fourth, an off night for the Stanford-bound star.
The Wolverines in the final quarter rallied to cut the deficit to just ten, 58-48, but Mount Si’s Riley and Zander Nelson hit clutch free throws down the stretch to seal things up. The win climbed the Wildcats into a tie for first in Kingco 3A with Bellevue with one game left.
Once the final horn sounded, Mount Si students stormed the court and celebrated for a long time afterward, a reflection on how big this win was for the program. It arguably was the signature win of the D’Ambrosio era.
Riley’s 22 extended his career scoring total with the Wildcats to 1,469, which is the most in school history. The Portland-bound senior, in Mount Si’s win at Juanita February 2, broke the old mark, 1,418, set by former Wildcat star Todd Beach, who anchored Mount Si back in the late 1970’s and helped the school win its only state hoops crown in 1977. Riley was thrilled.
“It’s definitely an honor. It feels good,” he said. “It was four years of hard work, four years of getting double teamed, four years of getting held, and thank God I’ve got good teammates and good coaches that set me up for my success.”
Fellow senior Taylor Campbell, out with a knee injury, praised Riley.
“I just feel so good for him. He’s worked at it every single year,” Campbell said.
Riley was among several seniors honored prior to the game for their efforts in the program. Another member of the Class of 2010, Downer, had this message for fans.
“Keep coming,” said Downer. “That’s not our best yet. We’ve got more in store.”
The momentum Mount Si gained from that win was quashed last Thursday, February 11, as the Wildcats struggled in the second half and fell to Mercer Island, 67-53.
Mount Si opens play in the Kingco Tournament Thursday at Bellevue College.
