Overtime thriller goes to the Eagles

The Issaquah Eagles boys basketball team had lost all the momentum going into overtime against the Eastlake Wolves.

The Eagles, who led the Wolves 72-64 late in the fourth quarter, saw their lead completely evaporate down the stretch. Eastlake forward Carson Sutton tied the game at 72-72 with a bucket, with just 22 seconds left in the fourth quarter. On the final possession of regulation, Issaquah senior Tanner Davis unleashed a short jumper that caromed off the rim. Issaquah forward Brent Wilson nearly scored on a put-back attempt but the shot was off the mark and the game remained tied at 72-72 after four quarters of play.

Despite Eastlake’s dominance in the final minutes of the fourth quarter, the Eagles rose to the occasion in overtime. The Eagles outscored the Wolves 13-4 in the four-minute overtime session en route to a dramatic 85-76 victory on Jan. 6 at Issaquah High School. Issaquah senior guard Jackson Suh hit a 3-pointer on the first possession of overtime, giving the Eagles a 75-72 lead.

Davis, who scored a team-high 28 points for the Eagles, thought Suh’s shot set the tone for the overtime period.

“Jackson hit a big shot and that was basically it after that. We got our energy and confidence back and we just kind of ran away with it,” Davis said.

Suh, who scored 18 points in the win, was thrilled to give his team the boost they needed at the beginning of the overtime session.

“It was pretty big. I haven’t shot that well from three (three-point line) the whole season but I hit two of them tonight. After that three (first points of overtime) I had a good feeling about overtime,” Suh said. “We knew we were the better team. We just got a little rattled. They (Eastlake) played some great ball and hit some good shots. No. 24 (Yousef Elkugia) was really tough to guard.”

Elkugia scored a game-high 31 points in the loss for Eastlake. Elkugia sparked Eastlake’s comeback in the fourth quarter with a wide assortment of moves in the post and short jump shots. Eastlake head coach Steve Kramer was proud of his team for its comeback in the second half. The Wolves trailed by 16 points early in the fourth quarter but battled their way back to tie the game.

“We kept competing like we have all year long. We have been in every game right down to the bitter end against the best teams in the (KingCo) league. Issaquah is certainly one of those teams. We told the guys that if you keep competing good fortunes can happen. They (Issaquah) went cold there a bit thankfully in the fourth quarter,” Kramer said. “We went to a zone and it kind of threw them off. We couldn’t stop them from getting to the rim so we had to switch it up. I’m very proud of the kids. That is how they can play. They can compete and beat the best teams in this league.”

The Eagles improved their overall record to 8-4 with the win while Eastlake dropped to 5-6.

Davis said winning a close game in overtime will serve the Eagles well for the remainder of the regular season and the playoffs.

“It was a huge win. We have so many young players that don’t have varsity experience. To go through a game like this and go through all the ups and downs of a varsity basketball game and to come through in the clutch really shows a lot about our team and how we handle adversity. I’m just proud of all of our guys for doing that,” Davis said. “We just brought energy and fire. We knew we couldn’t lose on our home court. We had to protect our house.”