ARLINGTON – Milan Moncrief and the Meadowdale Mavericks saved their best for last and, ultimately, it just wasn’t quite enough.
Moncrief, a senior wing, scored 22 of his game-high 33 points in the second half to lead a spirited comeback from a double-digit deficit before Meadowdale finally succumbed to the Squalicum Storm 69-67 in overtime in a 3A District 1 winner-to-state, loser out playoff game Saturday night at Arlington High School.
“I’m proud of our effort and proud of the way we fought,” Meadowdale coach Chad McGuire said. “We roared back and had a chance to win.
“It hurts, you feel bad for your seniors,” McGuire continued. “You wish they had the chance to go play in a state tournament.”
“It’s unfortunate this district only gets two berths to state,” Squalicum coach Dave Dickson said. “Meadowdale is a very deserving team … that was just two teams fighting for their lives … we definitely earned our trip to state.”
In a contest that featured 11 lead changes – eight of them coming in the fourth quarter and the extra period – Squalicum, trailing 64-61, got a pair of free throws by Nick Stackhouse (18 points) with 1:32 remaining in overtime.
On Meadowdale’s next possession Stackhouse stole the ball and passed to Adam Dickson who didn’t hesitate to throw down a 3-pointer from the top of the circle that gave the Storm a lead it would not relinquish.
Squalicum’s Royal Prendergast made four free throws in overtime and led the Storm with 24 points.
Nursing a 67-65 lead, Stackhouse drew Moncrief’s fifth foul with six seconds to play and calmly sank both free throws.
Meadowdale took a 6-5 lead on Moncrief’s put-back with four minutes to play in the opening period and did not lead again until he drove the lane with authority for a bucket that put the Mavericks up 50-49 with 5:31 remaining in regulation.
On Squalicum’s next possession Caleb Law savaged the boards on a missed Storm shot. Fouled, the senior missed the front end of a one-and-one, but Moncrief seized the offensive rebound and drew a foul.
With 5:14 to play Moncrief sank both free throws to give Meadowdale a 52-49 lead and cap a 20-6 run he had started with a mid-court steal and lay-in with just under three minutes remaining in the third quarter.
“He just didn’t want to lose,” McGuire said of the effort that erased an 11-point deficit. “All of our seniors stepped up and made plays.
“We couldn’t have worked any harder,” McGuire added. “We really left it all out on the floor. It’s just hard because you want it so bad for your seniors.”
In addition to Moncrief the Mavericks got 11 points from senior forward Nero Threet III, including two on a turnaround jumper in the lane that knotted the score at 54-54 with 2:25 remaining in regulation.
With the score tied at 58-58, Squalicum’s Chad Clark stole the ball and drove the length of the floor, but his lay-up was rejected by Threet at the buzzer to force OT.
At Arlington H.S.
Meadowdale101321149-67
Squalicum1613181111-69
Meadowdale-O’Neil 7, Clampitt 2, Moncrief 33, Gorman 3, Dooley 5, Threet 11, Law 6. Squalicum-Clark 5, K. Stackhouse 5, Hartle 2, Prendergast 24, N. Stackhouse 18, Dickson 12, Wallace 3. 3-point goals-Moncrief 1, Law 2, Clark 1, Prendergast 2, N. Stackhouse 1, Dickson 2. Records-Meadowdale 17-9. Squalicum 19-5.
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