Issaquah has been a thorn in the side of the Bothell boys basketball team. The two squads have played close games during the past two seasons despite Bothell being ranked in the top five in the state and the Eagles struggling to keep pace in their own division.

That trend continued Friday at Juanita High School, as the Cougars outlasted the Eagles during the second round of the 4A KingCo tournament with a 54-53 victory. Bothell qualified for the state tournament with the victory.

The Bothell players knew the upset-minded Eagles have had their number in the past and began the game on fire. The Cougars throttled their opponents 19-2 during the first quarter.

Bothell milked that lead for the rest of the game. The Eagles cut into the lead by four points during the second quarter. Then cut it to 44-39 by the end of the third quarter.

But that 17 point first-quarter lead continued to hold. The Cougars scored just 10 points during the final eight minutes of play.

Zach LaVine led the Cougars with 25 points, while teammate Aaron Wilks scored 12.

The Cougars will play Garfield on Friday for the 4A KingCo tournament title and the No. 1 seed to the state tournament. The Bulldogs are the only 4A team to defeat Bothell this season.

The game will be held at 8:15 p.m. at Juanita High School.