Eagles stay alive for the postseason

ARLINGTON -- The Arlington boys basketball team knew going into Thursday night's game against Monroe it needed a win in order to preserve its playoff chances.

At the start of the game, the Bearcats were 11/2 games ahead of the Eagles in the conference standings and a win would eliminate Arlington from playoff contention. Two hours later, Arlington was celebrating a 64-57 Wesco North win, and, with a win tonight against Stanwood, a possible playoff appearance.

"That was do-or-die," Arlington head coach Nick Brown said while his players and their fans celebrated on the court after the game. "I'm proud of all of them. Everyone contributed tonight."

Before the game, Brown explained to his team that if Monroe won, the Eagles season was over. But if Arlington won, and then beat rival Stanwood on Friday the playoffs were possible.

For a breakdown of the Wesco North boys basketball scenarios, click here

"I put up '2035' and a two underneath it," Brown said. "I said 'this is how many days you've probably been playing basketball. This (pointing at the two) is how many you have left if we lose.'"

The message sunk in and the players immediately hit the court fired up. Those who weren't already excited immediately became so as the Eagles scored their first points of the game when senior DJ Smith flew -- like an Eagle -- to the basket and threw down his first dunk of the season.

"The dunk for DJ at the start kind of set the tone for us tonight," Brown said. "It was great to see him finally get that. That's something he's wanted his whole life."

The dunk injected energy into the Arlington players and fans, who jumped to their feet screaming. Monroe quickly came down and made a basket to quiet the crowd somewhat. As there are with any story, there were two sides to the dunk. Those on the other team didn't think the dunk was a very big deal.

"I think the dunk had absolutely nothing to do with the outcome. Just gave them 2 points," said Nick Wold, the Bearcats' head coach. "I thought his excessive celebration deserved a technical right after that."

After the dunk it was off to the races. The game was close the rest of the way, with neither team leading by more than seven. Tony Peloquin scored a game-high 19 points for Monroe, and Terrance Day added 15.

"Monroe is a good team," Brown said. "I really like (coach) Nick. We've really grown respect for each other. His kids play hard. They come out and shoot the ball."

Wold singled out senior captain Carl Bunge, who continues to have a strong second half of the season. Bunge finished with 14 points, and defensively held Terry Dawn, one of Arlington's big offensive weapons, to eight points and just one made field goal.

"He's been playing fantastic basketball. He's on a second half tear," Wold said. "He's been in double figures over his last seven or eight games."

Arlington continued its offensive hot streak in the fourth quarter, matching the 20 points it scored in the third as the Bearcats had to foul.

It was fitting on Senior Night that one of the team's oldest players would be its best. Senior Bo Brummel led the Eagles with 16 points and 11 rebounds. He scored half of those in the third quarter as Arlington erased a five-point deficit and took the lead.

"We needed that win," Brummel said. "On our senior night we didn't want to go out like that."

Fellow senior Marcus Bryson made a few big shots for the Eagles -- including four 3-pointers -- and finished with 14 points. The Monroe coach will not be sad to see Bryson move on from Arlington.

"He's definitely a Bearcat killer," Wold said.

The win means that Arlington still has the opportunity to qualify for the district tournament. The Bearcats (8-7 league, 11-9 overall) still have one more conference win than the Eagles (7-7, 10-9), but their regular season is done.

Arlington holds the tiebreaker over Monroe because they beat the Bearcats in both games the two teams have played this season. The Eagles face rival Stanwood tonight at Arlington High School and, since they own the tiebreaker, will clinch the Wesco North's No. 4 seed to districts with a win over the Spartans.

"All I know is we get to play a game tomorrow night and I hope we win," Brown said.

The Bearcats will practice today and continue with business as usual, according to Wold.

"We'll watch film and go to practice," Wold said. "We'll still plan as if we're the fourth seed and just sit and wait."

At Arlington H.S.

Monroe 15 14 14 14 -- 57

Arlington 14 10 20 20 -- 64

Monroe–Bunge 14, Stevenson 5, Turner 3, Day 15, Peloquin 19, Cochran 1, Trujillo 0, Houmann 0. Arlington–M. Bryson 14, Dawn 8, Goheen 0, K. Bryson 5, Smith 2, Passalacqua 6, Davis 4, Br. Brummel 5, Bo Brummel 16, Jones 3, Boyden 1. 3-point goals–Bunge 2, Stevenson 1, Turner 1, Day 1, M. Bryson 4, Dawn 1, Passalacqua 2, Br. Brummel 1. Records–Monroe 8-7 league, 11-9 overall. Arlington 7-7, 10-9.