KingCo 3A Boys | Mercer Island makes fixes at halftime

ISSAQUAH -- Five minutes alone in the locker room at halftime made the difference for the Mercer Island High School boys basketball team Friday night.

After Islanders coach Ed Pepple had a quick word, the team cleared the air by itself.

The result was an energetic second half, led by senior guard Leroy Lutu, as sixth-ranked Mercer Island rallied from an 11-point, first-half deficit to secure a 59-57 victory over Issaquah in a KingCo 3A game.

The 6-foot-3 Lutu, son of former Washington tight end Leroy Lutu Sr., came alive for nine of his game-high 21 points in the pivotal third quarter. The Islanders (3-0 overall, 3-0 league) opened the second half with a 17-4 run.

"There were no coaches and we just talked amongst ourselves at halftime," said Lutu, who finished 10-of-19 shooting.

"We just came out fired up. It was just the guys in [the locker room]. It's a brotherhood in there. We knew what we needed to do."

Mercer Island started defending with more vigor and the offense clicked with unselfish drives that resulted in feeds inside and kick-outs for jumpers. The Islanders outscored Issaquah (3-1, 2-1) by a 23-9 count in the third quarter.

"It was just part of the plan to lull them to sleep in the first half," Pepple cracked afterward.

MI won despite a second half that saw it make just 6 of 17 free-throw attempts to finish 9 of 26 from the line for the game.

"We missed a ton of layins, and free throws were just killing us," Lutu said. "If we'd been able to make our free throws we probably could've won by 15. We had been doing well at the line, but we let the crowd get to us. Missing free throws like that is unacceptable."

Missed foul shots, including 4 for 14 in the fourth quarter, gave Issaquah hope until the final buzzer. Eagles junior Robby Primrose rebounded the second of two missed free throws by Lutu with 2.8 seconds left and heaved a three-quarter-court shot that was just short as time expired.

The Eagles, coached by 1984 Mercer Island graduate Jeff Patrick, led 31-20 before the Islanders turned things around. Primrose scored 13 of his 15 points in the first half for Issaquah, and Matt Lapasin provided nine of his team-high 16 points in the fourth quarter.

Other games

Skyline 62, at Newport 59

The Spartans' Craig Sadowski banked in a three-quarter-court shot as time expired after intercepting a pass, and Skyline (4-0, 3-0) beat the Knights (2-1, 1-1) in thrilling fashion. Sadowski finished with 15 points, going 5 for 5 from three-point range. The Spartans' Nick Crossan led all scorers with 19 points. Richard Woodworth paced Newport with 18 points.

At Bellevue 77, Interlake 50

Aaron Bright scored 19 points, Colton Christian had 18 and Alex Locke 13 to lead the fourth-ranked Wolverines (1-1, 1-1) past the Saints (1-3, 0-3).

At Mount Si 54, Liberty 50

Tanner Riley scored 17 points, Lucas Zupan had 14 points and 15 rebounds, and the Wildcats (2-2, 1-2) got past the Patriots (1-3, 0-3).