Shorewood boys basketball outlasts Monroe in 3A State Tournament

Published 1:55 am Saturday, February 28, 2026

BOTHELL — Everyone on the court had their eyes locked towards the rim.

Shorewood boys basketball held a three-point lead over Monroe with just 6.4 seconds left in the second round of the 3A State Tournament at North Creek High School on Friday, but they had to defend one last inbound play in their own half. After securing the offensive rebound for a miss from well behind the arc with 3.5 seconds left, Monroe managed to get the ball back behind the line in time for a final shot with a step back fadeaway.

The ball was in the air with 0.2 seconds left, the buzzer sounding before it peaked in its trajectory. It was right on target. For a split second, the whole gym went silent as it waited for the ball to land. Finally, after a fractions of a second that felt like a minute, the shot hit the front of the rim and bounced straight down to the court. Just short. Game over.

The No. 10 seed Stormrays (19-7) held on for a 51-48 win against the No. 18 seed Bearcats (20-5), punching their ticket to the Round of 12 in the Tacoma Dome. For Monroe, it was the end of the line.

As soon as the ball hit the ground, Shorewood junior Thomas Moles clapped his hands once and raised both arms as he sprinted back to the bench. Sophomore Tyler Marlow wanted to be sure — he looked straight at an official until he saw the signal that the game was in fact over — before running to join in. The Stormrays had to wait nearly 40 years to get back to the Tacoma Dome; Marlow could afford to wait a couple more seconds before celebrating.

“This is historic,” said Marlow, who led Shorewood with 16 points, four rebounds and four steals. “Literally, last year was the first time we made it to (the state opening round) in (38 years), and just making it to the (Tacoma) Dome this year, everybody was just excited to get to that goal.”

After losing to Federal Way in last year’s opening round, head coach Joey Petschl sat with the team in the locker room. The Stormrays had completed a landmark season for the program, but they wanted to build on it. In that moment, the players committed to each other that they would “dig in,” and do whatever it takes to reach the next level in the following season.

A year later, they locked up the District 1 3A Championship and advanced to the State Round of 12.

“This is the most work we’ve put in from after Labor Day ’til right now,” Petschl said. “And we’ve had some tough times, and these kids never waver. I think having it come down to defense and holding a team under 50 points again for the fourth straight game in a row (all wins), I think it kind of shows the grit and toughness these kids have. I love them for it.”

In addition to the younger Marlow, senior Jaden Marlow had 13 points and six rebounds, while Moles scored nine. For the Bearcats, junior Isaiah Kiehl scored a game-high 25 points.

The Bearcats know what Shorewood is feeling very well, which makes the sting stronger for them. Last season, Monroe won the district title and advanced to the Tacoma Dome for the first time since 1994. Despite bringing back much of the same roster, including a loaded senior class, the Bearcats couldn’t capture the same magic this time around.

Monroe coach Justin Prohn remained on the court and hugged every player on his team after the game went final, starting with a long embrace with his son, senior Wyatt Prohn. It was an emotional end for a team where family extended beyond the father and son.

“Just came up a couple points short tonight,” Justin Prohn said. “They battled and they fought really hard, and I couldn’t be more proud of who they are and who they’ve become, and how much they’ve grown and come together. Hugging them (the six seniors) is a hard thing. It’s a lot more than just a sport. We spend a lot of time as a family, and they’ve been tight and growing up (together) for a lot of stuff.

“We’ll always have the memory, the experience, but super proud of the legacy that they’ll leave. Hurts right now, but I think tomorrow we can hold our heads up, be proud of what they did.”

After losing to league-rival Snohomish in the district semifinals, the Bearcats received the No. 18 seed in the state tournament, falling much lower than fellow District 1 semifinalist Edmonds-Woodway, which got No. 11 and avoided a Tuesday night opening round matchup. After traveling all the way to Spokane Valley to defeat No. 15 seed University 53-39 on Tuesday, Monroe had a quick turnaround for Friday’s game in Bothell.

As happy as he was to see his team advance, Petschl felt strongly that the Bearcats did not get a fair shake in the tournament seedings.

“I feel like both teams should be going (to the Tacoma Dome),” Petschl said. “(…) We should never play a league game in this round of the tournament at a neutral court. We already played all year long with each other. Monroe is probably the best team in those bottom eight-ranked teams, and they had to play Tuesday in Spokane (Valley), and then come here and play on a Friday right after that. So I don’t agree with that.

“I think that is wrong, but I think ultimately, just thinking about our team, I think we’re just kind of destined to get to this spot.”

The game certainly was more evenly matched than the seedings would suggest. The sides went back-and-forth through the first quarter in a lively atmosphere. Kiehl put Monroe ahead 9-6 with 3:45 left in the first quarter, but Shorewood responded with a 12-3 run going into the second quarter, capped by a tip-in from senior Elijah Haub to take an 18-12 lead just over a minute into the frame.

Led by senior Dominic Castillo excelling under both rims, the Bearcats chewed away at the deficit until Kiehl knocked down a 3 to take a 23-22 lead with 3:02 left in the half. Entering the break, Monroe led 29-25.

For Shorewood, the focus turned to starting and finishing quarters strong, which Petschl labeled as a weakness for the group going into the district tournament.

On Friday, Tyler Marlow turned it into a strength.

Quieted after getting into some foul trouble in the first half, the 6-foot-2 wing came out strong in the third quarter, leading his team with 10 points on a 14-0 run to open the first five minutes of the second half. Marlow shined on the defensive end as well with two steals and a block amid the run, highlighted by a steal-and-score that he finished with an emphatic dunk to push the lead to 33-29.

“Since last year, our third quarters were all just ‘down’ quarters,” Marlow said. “But this year, we’ve just made that our goal, just to bring it in the third quarter, and we’ve done that all season. We did it today, too.”

After the Stormrays went up 39-29, Kiehl stepped up with a pair of timely 3’s as well as a steal and assist to reel the Bearcats back in. He knocked down two free throws with 31 seconds left in the quarter to cut it to 41-38 entering the final frame.

The game remained tightly contested until the final shot, neither side ever leading by more than one possession in the fourth quarter. Seniors Caleb Campbell and Caden Ganashamoorthy each converted crucial ‘And-1’s’ to put the Bearcats in front in the final five minutes, but Tyler Marlow and Moles went a combined 4-for-4 from the free throw line in the final 1:42 to put Shorewood in front for good.

The Stormrays will face the loser of No. 2 O’Dea/No. 7 Lincoln in the Tacoma Dome on March 4. After reasserting their claim atop Wesco, they’ll aim to stake their claim on the entire state.

“We won (the district championship) for a reason,” Moles said. “So it’s kind of a statement win here. We know our dreams and our goals are kind of here on the line, so just coming out and handling that.”