Originally published Tuesday, December 7, 2010 at 10:25 PM

Islanders survive Sammamish "chaos," win 58-46 / Boys Basketball

Mercer Island overcame some early struggles against Sammamish's swarming, fast-paced style of play and pulled away for a victory.

By Mason Kelley

Seattle Times staff reporter

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BELLEVUE — As he tried to assess Mercer Island's first-quarter struggles, coach Gavin Cree gave all the credit to Sammamish.

What the Totems lacked in size, they made up for in "chaos," forcing seven first-quarter turnovers. However, the Islanders eventually created a sense of order despite the swarming Sammamish players, and claimed a 58-46 victory on the road Tuesday.

"They don't let anyone play pretty," Cree said. "They cause chaos. They're a tough team. They play really hard for coach (Wes) Newton."

When Mercer Island (2-0, 1-0 KingCo 3A/2A) needed a big shot to get back into the game, trailing by four in the second quarter, Derek Newhof drilled a three.

"He's not afraid to take a big shot," Cree said. "He's a gamer."

When the Islanders needed big shots to maintain their second-half lead, Newhof stepped up, scoring a game-high 16 points and hitting four three-pointers.

"They weren't getting a hand out on me and I was feeling it," Newhof said. "I fired and they were dropping, so I just kept shooting."

Kaj Sherman had 10 points and 15 rebounds for the Islanders, while Jeff Lindquist came off the bench to add eight points and seven rebounds.

The Totems (2-1, 1-1) proved they can create fits for their opponents on defense, but the key moving forward is finding a way to control the chaos and stay out of foul trouble.

"We want to make it as fast paced and sloppy as we can," Newton said. "It worked in spurts. The difference, I would say, is experience. Those (Mercer Island) guys, they're a group coming back. They've played together. My guys, even though a lot of them have played varsity, they're still learning how to get through those things."

Sammamish sophomore Dakota Olsen came of the bench to score 12 points. Sami Jarjour also scored 12.

"He (Olsen) has struggled the last two games," Newton said. "We've seen what he can do in the summer and we just need him to have that confidence, that borderline cocky-type kid coming out, and he came out great."

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