The Redmond High boys’ basketball team was handed its fifth straight 4A Kingco league defeat on Tuesday night at Newport, as the Mustangs’ big halftime lead evaporated in a 59-53 loss.

The Knights were ice-cold in the first half, trailing 27-15 at the break, but the Mustangs were unable to contain Newport’s high-octane offense in the second half, allowing 44 points including 26 in the Knights’ third-quarter comeback effort to tie the score at 41-41.

For Redmond, Andrew Squires led all scorers with 18, followed by Conner Floan with 17.

The loss dropped Redmond to third place in the 4A Kingco Crest Division at 7-6 (10-9 overall), with the top four teams from each division advancing to the 4A Kingco Tournament starting on Tuesday, Feb. 8 at the higher seed’s home court.

The Mustangs round out their regular season with a home matchup against Issaquah (4-9, 7-12) on Friday night, tipoff at 8 p.m.

STRONG START PROPELS OWLS

The Overlake School boys’ basketball team got off to a roaring start and held on for a 51-39 win over Bush at home on Tuesday night in 1A Emerald City League action.

The Owls held the Blazers to just nine first-half points while pouring in 32 of their own en route to the easy win.

For Overlake, leading scorer Dean Poplawski put in a game-high 20, with Cameron Lui adding 12. In total, nine different players scored for the Owls, who improved to 3-8 in league and 6-13 overall.

OVERLAKE GIRLS’ COMEBACK FALLS SHORT

The Lady Owls fell behind early and rallied late, but fell short in a 49-41 loss to Bush at home Tuesday night in 1A Emerald City League play.

Trailing 41-26 after three quarters, the Owls scored 15 in the final frame, their highest single-quarter point total since their first game of the season back on Nov. 30, but the Blazers scored eight to secure the win.

The Owls fell to 1-12 in league play and 2-16 overall.