This afternoon the Mercer Island boys basketball team will take on Mt. Si in the second round of the KingCo playoffs. They outlasted Juanita in a loser out game on Tuesday. Here are some of head coach Gavin Cree’s thoughts on Tuesday night and what the team needs to accomplish today.

“At half time we felt like Juanita had outhustled us.  We challenged the players to play harder and with more energy, but also to play smarter.  The first half was littered with turnovers and a lack of ball movement.  In the second half, we moved the ball better and were able to break down their zone a little bit easier.  Juanita’s coaching staff does a great job of taking their opponents out of their comfort zone.  They make you play sloppy, they have done it all year.  We were able to hold on and beat them going away by 17 which was a nice accomplishment.”

On the fact that MI beat Mount Si in their last meeting:

“Having beat them last week gives us confidence going into the Kingco playoff matchup. We need to outrebound them and take care of the basketball. Any time we can do those two things, we become a very difficult team to beat.  I know Mount Si will come out hungry though and we will need to exceed their will to win.  That was the case last week and it will be the key this time as well.”

On standout players during the Juanita game:

“Sloan Aikens and Ben Emanuels played terrific defense on Ryon Cunnigan all night.  Cunnigan averages close to 20 a game and we were able to hold him to 15 and a very low shooting percentage.  Those two guys have been stoppers for us all year.  They are doing a great job.  It helped us to hold Juanita to 33 points.”

This is a little delayed, but between weird schedules, deadlines and the upcoming holidays (which always seem to send things into chaos) I guess better late than never!

Here are Gavin Cree’s thoughts on the last week of games, including the win over Juanita last Friday and the team’s loss to top ranked O’Dea at Bellevue College.

“I thought we got better this weekend. We defended very well in both contests. Against Juanita, I think our size was a little overwhelming for them to handle. With our length, we are able to contest shots really well – it is hard to shoot over us. We outrebounded them 42-16, which is the way it should be. We’ve still got to take better care of the basketball on the offensive end.”

He said O’Dea was a nice test for the Islanders. O’Dea is currently ranked 6th in the Reporter sportswriter’s basketball poll.

“O’Dea was a nice test for us. If we connect at the free throw line and block out down the stretch I think we win that game. O’Dea is one of the more athletic teams in our district, and we know that we can play with them. Despite the loss, I think our team gained a great deal of confidence from that game. Any time you hold your opponent to 43 points you expect to win the game. Right now our defense is ahead of our offense which isn’t unusual early in the year. We’ve got to develop a chemistry offensively which will come with time. There are a lot of guys out there without much experience, so we will keep getting better.”

The Islanders are 2-2 so far this season and will play Interlake tomorrow night (Friday, Dec. 18) with a 7:30 p.m. tipoff.