Juanita upsets No. 8 Sammamish, falls to Mercer Island | Prep boys basketball

Continuing the trend in KingCo that no team is safe, the Juanita boys upset Sammamish on Tuesday night, beating the Totems 58-54 before falling to Mercer Island last Friday.

Continuing the trend in KingCo that no team is safe, the Juanita boys upset Sammamish on Tuesday night, beating the Totems 58-54 before falling to Mercer Island last Friday.

“The Rebels jumped out early and then fought off a tough and determined Sammamish team,” said Rebels head coach Derek Witt. “If there ever was a balanced team win it was tonight.”

Senior Kellen Gildersleeve had 14 points with four rebounds during the game, Nicola Stanjik had 12 points and three assists, Ty Eng put up 10 points and nine assists. Brett Hamre had eight points and seven rebounds, added to by Avery Britton’s seven points and nine rebounds and Taylor Williams seven points and five rebounds.

Coming into the game the Totems had averaged 10 3-pointers a game, but the Rebels held Sammamish to just three 3-point baskets during the game.

On Jan. 7 the Rebels traveled to Mercer Island where they lost 67-35 in a league game.

The decisive loss for Juanita began with a 23-6 led in the first quarter for the Islanders, who never slowed down. Stanjik had seven points during the game, while Harme had six, Taylor Williams had five, Eng put up four and Sean Brennan, Britton and Nate Dean each had three points. Gildersleeve had two while Kyle Kurkis and Lee Woodward added one each.

The Rebels will host Bellevue Friday at 8 p.m.