Mount Si’s boys basketball team gave a very good Franklin squad a tough test in the first half of last Thursday’s SeaKing Tournament quarterfinal game at Bellevue College.

The Quakers, though, proved to be better in the second half, and now the Wildcats find themselves fighting for their state tournament lives.

Despite a game-high 22 from Portland-bound senior star Tanner Riley, Mount Si could not overcome a 40-23 second half scoring advantage by the Quakers and fell to the Metro League team 66-55. Juwuan Buchanan led a balanced scoring attack for Franklin with 18 points.

“They just came out with a little more fire in the second half than we did,” said Mount Si senior Dillon Shain.

The Quakers opened the game with the early lead and ended the first quarter ahead 14-11. The Wildcats, though, woke up in the second quarter, behind Riley. After starting the frame battling for the lead with Franklin, Riley’s basket with 3:23 left in the stanza put the Wildcats in front 23-21, and he proceeded to help Mount Si down the stretch with additional key baskets.

The Wildcats went into halftime up 32-26, and Riley finished with 14 points in that second quarter.

The Quakers spent much of the third quarter fighting to get back into the game, despite attempts by Mount Si to pull away. Franklin was successful in that effort near the end of the frame, when Leon Nelson hit a basket to help them regain the lead 44-43. The Quakers went into the final quarter in front, then junior Ray Rogers stepped up for Franklin. Rogers scored 11 points in the final frame, and he finished with 17 to pace the Quaker efforts. Those fourth-quarter points were essential in helping Franklin pull away late in the contest.

Despite the loss, freshman Anthony McLaughlin enjoyed his first district tournament game.

“It was a good experience and we were up against a really good team, Franklin. I’d put money on us winning the next time against these guys,” McLaughlin said.

Anrio Adams, Franklin’s top player, scored 16 to pace the Quakers while Zander Nelson added nine to aid the Wildcats, whose playoff hopes now hang on a must-win game this week against O’Dea or Rainier Beach.

For the Mount Si varisty squad, one of the tenets of this postseason has been keeping things simple.

“We’re trying to be more simplistic and specific in our game plan,” said Mount Si coach Jeff D’Ambrosio, “so the kids have two or three things that we want to accomplish offensively and two or three things we want to accomplish defensively.”

Shain, though, understands how difficult it is.

“Well, (the Quakers) were fourth in Metro, so this shows you how good that this whole district is,” he said.