MILL CREEK — For the first time since 1994, the refuse-to-lose Monroe boys hoops team is headed to state.

The Monroe High School boys basketball squad overcame a four-point deficit in the final 20 seconds against Lake Stevens on Friday and prevailed 68-67 in a Class 4A District 1 tourna

ment winner-to-state-regional semifinal that was intense until the final second.

Monroe fell behind 67-63 but scored the final five points. Senior guard Joey Roppo’s 3-pointer from the middle cut Lake Stevens to 67-66 with 19 seconds to go, and senior guard Slava Ulanovskiy’s layin with 8 seconds remaining — set up by a steal after Lake Stevens’ inbounds pass — was the winning basket.
How did Monroe pull off its incredible finish?

“Perseverance,” said Roppo, who scored a career-high 26 points on 11 of 19 field-goal shooting. “We knew Lake Stevens was a great team and we knew they were going to make some runs. We had to step up and hit some shots and just match their (spurts).”

After Ulanovskiy’s layin off the backboard from the right side gave Monroe the lead, Lake Stevens guard Kevin Smith got an open look at the other end. But his 3-point attempt bounced off the rim as the buzzer blared.

Roppo and senior post Tom Meeus (22 points, 10 of 13 from the field, eight rebounds) had huge performances for Monroe, which had never qualified for the 4A state tournament. Its last state trip was in 1994, when it placed eighth in 3A.

Asked about his game-winning basket, Ulanovskiy (six points) struggled to piece together exactly what happened. It was all a big, thrilling blur for the Bearcats.

“Last shot — I don’t even remember how we got the ball. … We ran (a defensive) trap,” said Ulanovskiy. “Carl Bunge deflected it … and he kind of batted it to me, and I got it and made a great layup over somebody.”

Did Ulanovskiy feel the pressure of having the game in his hands?

“Honestly, I didn’t think that at all. It’s just, ‘Make the shot,’” he said.

After leading by as many as 11 points several times in the second quarter and holding an eight-point edge midway through the third quarter, Monroe barely outlasted a resilient, constantly hustling Lake Stevens squad. But Monroe — led by five senior starters and several more seniors who contribute off the bench — found a way to win.

“Our senior guys are really just kind of refusing to lose right now,” Monroe coach Nick Wold said. “It’s a nice moment for them to really just continue to believe that it was our game (to win).”

Western Conference North Division No. 1 seed Monroe (17-5) plays Jackson in the district championship game on Feb. 18 at Jackson High. South Division champion Jackson (20-2) routed Arlington 82-53 in the late semifinal on Friday.

Lake Stevens (12-10) still has a chance to advance to the state regional. Sophomore guard Dakota Tomson scored a team-high 18 points, including four 3s, for the Wesco North No. 3-seeded Vikings, who play a loser-out consolation game against South No. 3 seed Edmonds-Woodway (10-12) on Tuesday.
Lake Stevens made back-to-back 4A state tournament appearances in 2009 and 2010, including an eighth-place finish in ‘09. But the Vikings didn’t return a single starter this season.

Monroe is 3-0 against Lake Stevens winter. During the league schedule, the Bearcats edged Lake Stevens 58-56 on Dec. 17 in Monroe and routed the Vikings by 20 points (65-45) on Jan. 31 in Lake Stevens.

In the teams’ third meeting, Monroe’s Roppo was deadly. He scored 18 points after halftime, including the clutch 3-pointer that preceded Ulanovskiy’s lead-changing layin.

“It was an amazing shot,” Ulanovskiy said of Roppo’s late 3, “and he played an amazing game.”

“I was so proud of Joey,” coach Wold said, “because he’s a basketball kid and he loves to compete. He’s such a sweet kid, a nice kid, but I think people really underestimate what a competitor he is.”

Not anymore.

Other than Tomson, Lake Stevens’ double-digit scorers were senior guard Seth Dodge (14 points) and junior forward Brady Pahukoa (10 points; eight in the fourth quarter).

At Jackson H.S.

Lake Stevens 9 20 20 18 — 67

Monroe 18 15 20 15 — 68

Lake Stevens: Tomson 18, Gasca 6, Dodge 14, Pahukoa 10, Eklund 8, Vandegrift 1, Paulson 3, Smith 7. Monroe: Roppo 26, Drivstuen 4, Ulanovskiy 6, Meeus 22, Parker 6, Bunge 2, Reilly 2, Turner, Day. 3-point goals-Tomson 4, Paulson 1, Smith 1, Roppo 2, Parker 1. Records-Lake Stevens 12-10. Monroe 17-5.

Mike Cane: mcane@heraldnet.com. Check out the prep sports blog Double Team at www.heraldnet.com/doubleteam and follow Cane on Twitter at MikeCaneHerald.