Senior night couldn’t had gone more perfect for the Issaquah Eagles boys basketball team in their regular season finale against the Skyline Spartans.
The Eagles, who coming into the game had already clinched the Class 4A KingCo regular season title, earned a 51-38 win against the Spartans in the final regular season contest of the season on Feb. 5 in Issaquah. Issaquah finished the regular season with an overall record of 17-3, including a 15-1 record in league play. Woodinville finished in second place in the Class 4A KingCo Division with a record of 13-3. Issaquah’s frenzied defense surrendered just six points in the second quarter and four points in the third quarter. The Eagles outscored the Spartans 30-10 in the second and third period building a 40-22 lead after three quarters of play.
Issaquah senior guard Scott Kellum, who scored a team-high 15 points and hit five three-pointers, said playing stingy defense is a staple of the Eagles basketball program.
“From the start our coaches have preached defense, defense and defense to us. Our defense really gets us going on offense. It gets us steals, gets us pumped up and gets the crowd going. We just get into a rhythm,” Kellum said. “Defense is really the only thing you can control and you can control that with 100 percent effort all the time. That is what we try to do and it seems to be working out.”
Skyline had a 12-10 lead at halftime but struggled to get their offense going in the second and third quarter. Issaquah senior guard Jason Crandall, who finished with 13 points in the win, said it was just a matter of time until his squad found its groove on offense in the second half.
“We knew at halftime that we played really good defense in the second quarter. We only gave up six points and we were just missing some open shots that we knew we could hit. Everyone was really calm, nobody was worried at halftime. We knew the last couple of games we blew the game open in the third quarter,” Crandall said.
Defeating the Spartans on senior night was icing on the cake for the eagles.
“It has been a long journey and a great end to the season. Having just one loss in KingCo is amazing. It can’t get much better than playing your rival on senior night with a packed gym,” Crandall said.
Kellum echoed Crandall’s sentiment while celebrating with a bevy of well-wishers and fans following the game.
“It is a fairy tale ending and is amazing,” Kellum said. “It was a great way to go out.”
While the regular season may be in the rearview mirror, the playoffs are on the immediate horizon. Last season the Eagles captured fourth place at the Class 4A state tournament in March at the Tacoma Dome. This season the Eagles are just excited about the opportunity awaiting them in postseason action.
“We’re super pumped. I feel like the last few years we feel like we have come up a little short. We felt like we could had made it further. We’re looking forward to getting another chance at it,” Kellum said.
