EVERETT — In a tale of two halves, the Cascade boys basketball team was very good in the first two quarters against visiting Monroe.
The third and fourth quarters were not nearly as good, but the Bruins were still good enough to hold on for a 74-60 Western Conference 4A victory on Monday night.
“In the first half I felt like we played really well,” said Cascade coach Darrell McNeal. “We were moving the ball, sharing the ball, playing team basketball, and we had a lot of success just shooting well.
“But I was concerned about the way we played in the second half,” he said. “I don’t think we played very well. We didn’t move the ball, we didn’t take care of the ball and we definitely didn’t do a good job of rebounding in the second half. So there are some things we need to fix, but we were still able to escape with a win.”
Cascade got its first two points on a layin by forward Isaiah Gotell, but from there the Bruins went on a 3-point binge, getting their next eight field goals from beyond the arc. Guard Brevin Brown hit three in a row to give Cascade a lead it never lost, teammates Cameron McGrath and Justin Gordon followed with 3-pointers, then McGrath hit two more and Gordon added another.
Gordon’s final 3-pointer of that string came early in the second period, giving the Bruins a 26-8 lead. The margin reached 22 points three times later in the quarter and was 20 points, 44-24, at halftime.
“We have a couple of kids that can shoot the ball, and we’re fortunate this year to have that,” McNeal said. “The shots were there and it’s part of the offense. … It was a night where our shooting was on and I’m happy about that.”
Still, despite his team’s first-half success, “I knew Monroe wasn’t just going to lay down,” he said. “I knew from playing them last year that they were going to come back and give us a good fight.”
Indeed, Monroe did battle back, though the big surge came in the fourth quarter. Trailing 59-40 after three quarters, the Bearcats ran off eight straight points to open the period, and later they twice closed within seven points.
But Cascade sank enough free throws in the remaining minutes to finish with a final 14-point margin.
“The recipe for success was there for us in the first half, but it was disaster in the second,” McNeal said. “We just didn’t play well (after halftime).”
As disappointed as McNeal was with the second half, Monroe assistant coach Todd Newhouse (filling in for head coach Tyson Horner, who was ill) was similarly unhappy with the first half.
“We came out a little sluggish,” Newhouse said. “We missed a few layins early, we missed a few free throws, and they took advantage and hit some 3s and away they went.
“But we battled back,” he added. “We’ve been a second half team all year, but now we have to get them going in the first half.”
Though the Bearcats could easily pin the blame for the loss on a sluggish start, they were also undone by poor free throw shooting, going just 14-for-30 at the line.
“We struggled at the free throw line, and we struggled with little 4- and 5-footers around the hoop,” Newhouse said. “We have to finish.”
McGrath led all scorers with 22 points, while Brown added 19 and Gordon chipped in 15. Rhen Shore was high for Monroe with 16 points, with freshman teammate Colby Kyle chipping in 15.
At Cascade H.S.
Monroe 8 16 16 20 — 60
Cascade 23 21 15 15 — 74
Monroe_Andrew Chartrand 8, Tyler Koontz 0, Alex Johnson 0, Devin Sepich 2, Rhen Shore 16, Alex Spahman 9, Tristan Witham 3, Colby Kyle 15, Trenton Newhouse 0, John Montero 2, Isaiah Cole 5.
Cascade_Trevon Blackmon 2, Brevin Brown 19, Edis Hrustic 2, Cameron McGrath 22, Muhammed Kolly 0, Isaiah Gotell 10, Brennen Hancock 4, Justin Gordon 15, Tre Poole 0.
3-point goals_Andrew Chartrand 1, Rhen Shore 3, Brevin Brown 4, Cameron McGrath 5, Justin Gordon 3.
Records_Monroe is 2-1 in league, 2-4 overall. Cascade is 5-4, 2-1.
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