EVERETT — The Monroe boys basketball team didn’t have a double-digit scorer or a 3-pointer made Saturday night.
But the Bearcats had heart and, as a result, are going to the district championship.
A big second-half run helped Monroe top Snohomish for the first time in three tries this season, as the Bearcats gutted it out against the Panthers 38-34 in a 4A District 1 semifinal game at Everett Community College.
“It’s just a fierce rivalry. It’s been like that all season,” said Monroe senior Andrew Chartrand. “It’s been emotional. It’s been competitive. Coming out and beating a team like that, after losing to them twice in the regular season, just shows our heart. I love it.”
Rhen Shore led the Bearcats with nine points — seven of which came in the fourth quarter. The senior helped Monroe, which started the game with a 9-0 run, reclaim the lead with 2:38 to go in the game. Shore — who grabbed 11 rebounds — made five free throws in the final period and added a block at the buzzer for good measure.
“He had a look in his eye that he was determined to get to the rim,” said Monroe head coach Tyson Horner. “He had quite a few free throws, but he also made some nice baseline moves. He’s so unselfish. He doesn’t take enough shots sometimes and we, as a coaching staff, have to let him know, ‘We need you to get going.’”
Colby Kyle (six rebounds and four blocks), Devin Sepich and Trenton Newhouse scored six points apiece for Monroe (13-9 overall) in the victory. Newhouse left the game after falling hard on his left arm late in the second period and did not return.
Horner wasn’t sure of his availability for Thursday’s district championship game against Jackson or Cascade.
“I think it’s just what we have as a team,” Horner said. “Trenton Newhouse was on pace for a great night in the first quarter. He had six. I had a feeling, starting him tonight, that he was going to get rolling. He might have a broken wrist, it’s a huge loss. Other guys had to step up.”
Horner said Newhouse could have a dislocated or broken wrist, and he would go in for X-rays soon.
Without Newhouse, other Bearcats had to step up, including Chartrand, who finished with five points and four steals.
“We don’t have that guy that’s going to go off for 30 a game,” Chartrand said. “But we do have everyone that can go off for 10 and we can beat anybody.”
After a strong start to the game, the Monroe offense stalled in the second and third quarters.
But the Bearcats got it going when they had to, outscoring the Panthers 14-8 in the decisive fourth quarter to clinch a spot in the district championship game at 8 p.m. Thursday at Everett Community College.
“I had all the confidence in my team that they’re going to pull it off,” Sepich said. “There’s never a doubt in my mind in the fourth quarter. This is what we practice all year for. This is what the brotherhood’s all about.”
Saturday’s contest was a defensive battle, with Snohomish doing most of its damage in a 16-point second quarter. Panthers senior Gus Baxter came off the bench and scored 11 points — a team-high for Snohomish (14-7) which got a 3-pointer by Jake Shogren at the buzzer to take a three-point lead into the half.
“(Baxter) was a big lift,” said Snohomish head coach Len Bone. “He came in and without what he did, heck, we would have been down 10 or 12 in the first half.”
But poor shooting in the second half doomed the Panthers, who shot 12-of-48 from the field and scored just 13 points in the second half.
The loss means Snohomish will face Kamiak at 8 p.m. Tuesday at EvCC in a loser-out game.
“If you don’t play well for an hour and a half it doesn’t mean you’re not a good team,” Bone said. “I would expect us to practice well Monday and I would expect us to play well Tuesday night. We’re on a lot harder road than we could have been on, but that’s the way it is.”
Monroe 38, Snohomish 34
At Everett Community College
Monroe 11 7 6 14 —38
Snohomish 5 16 5 8 —34
Monroe—Alex Johnson 3, Andrew Chartrand 5, Tyler Koontz 0, Trenton Newhouse 6, John Montero 0, Rhen Shore 9, Tristan Witham 3, Alex Spahman 0, Colby Kyle 6, Isaiah Cole 0, Devin Sepich 6. Snohomish—Zak Carlson 4, Jake Shogren 7, Will Layton 0, Mitch Morris 0, Kobe McDaniel 6, Gus Baxter 11, Kole Bride 0, Danny McGregor 2, Jake Perry 0, Collin Kane 4. 3-point goals—Shogren 2, McDaniel 2, Baxter 3. Records—Monroe 13-9 overall. Snohomish 14-7.
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