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Sports

Islanders Punch Tickets for State with Win Over Rainier Beach, 50-43

Mercer Island guard Derek Newhof hit six 3-pointers and led all scorers with 22 points.

The Mercer Island Islanders punched their ticket to the state tournament on Saturday with a victory over the Rainier Beach Vikings at Bellevue College. For the second consecutive night while facing elimination the Islanders defeated an opponent from the Metro conference stunning the number two team in the state by a final score of 50-43.

Mercer Island rode the outstanding performance of senior guard Derek Newhof who hit six 3-pointers and led all scorers with 22 points. "As a player and a coach I don't think I've ever been around a guy that is as gutsy as he is," Islander head coach Gavin Cree complimented his point guard after the game.

Rainier Beach got an early lead when senior guard Hakeem Stewart scored the first 7 points for the Vikings. The two teams continued through what was mostly a defensive battle in the first quarter but as the period came to a close Islander sophomore Joe Rasmussen got an offensive rebound and made the put back to cut the Vikings lead to 3. Rasumussen's bucket would give the Islanders the first two points of a 15-0 run that lasted until Stewart made a pair of free throws with 3:30 remaining in the first half.

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The Vikings battled through the deficit and finished the half strong cloing the Islander lead to 5 points as the teams broke for the locker rooms.

The Viking momentum continued in the second half as Rainier Beach outscored Mercer Island 13-6 in the third quarter to take a 2 point lead to the final frame.

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With the fate of their season hanging in balance the Islanders responded like champions. After a pair of free throws by junior forward Jeff Lindquist the Islanders got a defensive stop and took the lead back on Newhof's fifth 3-pointer of the game. The teams went back and forth for the next five minutes but with 3:21 left in the basketball game Islander senior captain Quinn Sterling was called for a touch foul against Viking forward Tyrell Lewis. It was Sterling's fifth foul of the game forcing him to the bench with 7 points and 7 rebounds. "This team's been without me for a long time so they were used to it....I wasn't really nervous at all," Sterling said after the game. His teammates would go on to confirm his confidence in them.

Lewis split his free throws after Sterling's final foul cutting Mercer Island's lead to three. Moments later as the clock hit one minute to play Stewart made a lay in that closed the gap to two points at 45-43. The Vikings would not score again and the Islanders would add five more points on free throws from Newhof, center Kaj Sherman, and junior forward Sean Hughes.

Three Vikings reached double figures in the loss for Rainier Beach. Stewart had 14, center Michael Middlebrooks had 13, and Lewis scored 12 for the Vikings.

The Islanders next game will be Friday February 25th at Spokane Falls Community College. The Islanders will need to win to win two games in Spokane to advance to the second part of the state tournament at the Tacoma Dome in the first weekend in March.

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