Mount Si’s boys basketball team last Tuesday night, January 26, faced what looked to be a tough test in the Sammamish Totems, who have improved considerably since the last time these two teams met back in December. Sammamish came into this game looking to tie the Wildcats for second in Kingco 3A, but after a second half offensive explosion, Mount Si had other ideas.
A 25-10 run from late in the third into the beginning stages of the fourth helped turn the game into a rout, and the Wildcats sent a big message to the rest of the league with a 72-47 win over the Totems. It was no surprise, either, about who led the Mount Si charge: Wildcats senior star Tanner Riley, who scored 12 of his game-high 30 in the third quarter as Mount Si attained a two-game lead plus the head-to-head tiebreak over Sammamish with the victory.
“Third quarter was great. We came out and we started putting everything together,” said a pleased Wildcat coach Jeff D’Ambrosio.
Mount Si broke out quick to a big early lead behind solid defense, and excellent offense from both Riley and Zander Nelson. Nelson scored six of his eight points in the game in the opening frame as scarlet and gray opened with a 17-2 lead before Sammamish settled down and tightened things up considerably in the second quarter. The Totems, behind contributions from several players, including Daniel Wruble and George Valle, stormed back and got to within three points of tying the contest before the Wildcats stopped the Sammamish rally. Mount Si had a 31-26 lead going into the break. Valle finished with 12 to lead the Totems, while Wruble added 10.
After another rousing halftime performance by the Panther Pride unicycle team, which has been a community mainstay for over 25 years now, the Wildcats came out and went to work in the third quarter. Mount Si was able to build some cushion onto the lead, then with the score 45-37 and less than two minutes to go, the Wildcats erupted. Several Mount Si players including Riley and Dillon Shain hit baskets during that final stretch, and the boys from the Valley took full command of the game.
The onslaught continued into the final frame, as Riley, Justin Downer and Lucas Zupan all hit baskets in the initial stages of the quarter and after all was said and done, it was 70-47 and halfway through the final stanza. From there the Wildcats cruised, emptying their bench and giving their reserves quality minutes, including Joe Farmer, Jordan Karavias and Miles Zupan.
Riley feels the team’s path to postseason has cleared up considerably. “We keep that second spot and now we’ve just got to focus on winning our last couple of games and beating Bellevue,” he said, but he also offered praise for the Totems. “I think Sammamish is always a threat. When their threes are on, they can play with anybody,” Riley said,
Duncan Dickerson also scored 10 to pace the Sammamish cause.
The game with Sammamish was the Wildcats’ lone game last week, and the additional rest will be important down the stretch.
“It’s definitely going to help us out. Everyone’s got to get rested because we’re going to need every player to contribute down the postseason road,” Nelson said. D’Ambrosio added, “This is the time of the season where you shore up on the details and you try and stay healthy.”
