The Bellevue High boys basketball team finished the first half on a 21-0 run and cruised to a conference win over Lake Washington, 67-42, on Friday at Lake Washington High School in Kirkland.

The Kangs, who had won four of the last five KingCo games coming in, kept pace with Bellevue for the first eight minutes. Bellevue’s Spencer Birkeland hit a 3 pointer late in the first quarter and Bellevue took a 19-15 lead into the second period.

The Wolverines (8-2 KingCo, 10-2) then held Lake Washington (5-5, 7-5) scoreless for the remainder of the half.

“Offensively, we decided to stop sharing the basketball and I think we all decided to try to beat them ourselves,” Lake Washington coach Ryan Staudacher said. “We took early shots, we took rushed shots, we took selfish shots, and when we do that they’re low-percentage shots. When you do that, you can go a whole quarter without scoring — when you’re taking those tough shots.”

Even the good shots — a point-blank hook from sophomore Griffin Barker, corner 3s from Sam Linsky and Beau Heimdahl and layups from everyone — would roll off the rim and out. Heimdahl, prone to hot streaks from the field, finished one-for-eight from 3-point range and two-for-14 from the floor.

For Staudacher, whose postgame comments kept the players in the locker room until the gym was nearly clear of parents and friends, a tough shooting night isn’t an excuse for poor team play.

“You could see that the guys got a little frustrated,” Staudacher said. “They missed some ones they normally make, but that’s basketball. You’re going to miss shots, and we’ve got to get better at not letting that affect the next play and just moving on.”

Bellevue, though, was hot from beyond the arc. Four Wolverine players hit at least one 3-pointer, led by four treys from Birkeland, who led Bellevue with 14 points.

Staudacher was especially frustrated given the quality of play over the last six games. The Kangs won a thriller over league-leading Mercer Island on Jan. 6, and have blown out the teams at the bottom of the standings.

“We’ve been playing so well these last few weeks, and I thought we came out well to start the game,” he said. “I’m disappointed that we had a showing like that against Bellevue, a team you get excited to play.”

Jordan Richter led the Kangs with 14 points. Linskey had 12 points and Heimdahl had eight.

Next, Lake Washington is set to play Liberty at 8 p.m. on Jan. 21 at Lake Washington High School.