Edmonds-Woodway boys’ balance overwhelms upstart Everett

MILL CREEK — Experience pays dividends in high-leverage moments, and the Edmonds-Woodway boys basketball proved it on Saturday morning.

The No. 1-seeded Warriors (22-3) didn’t expect to be playing a winner-to-state, loser-out game on Saturday at 10:00 a.m., losing to No. 4 Shorewood 42-40 in the 3A District 1 Tournament semifinal.

Despite the shock, Edmonds-Woodway played like the team that finished second at state a year ago in a 69-39 win over No. 6 Everett (16-10). To channel that 2025 team, which fell to Rainier Beach in the 3A state title game, head coach Tyler Geving leaned on his area player of the year and star — now Dartmouth freshman — Cam Hiatt, who called in after the loss.

“(Hiatt) gave us a little motivational talk … almost like don’t screw this thing up. It was an awesome message, and the kids were happy to see him on the Zoom,” Geving said. “Then the kids kind of just motivated themselves.”

Hiatt’s running mate and friend from that squad, senior William Alseth, scored 11 points and notched four rebounds. It was refreshing for Alseth to see a familiar face as the season-deciding game drew closer.

“Cam is very motivating. Was last year, still is,” Alseth said. “It’s just good to hear from him and get some support.”

The Warriors leaned on their balanced roster once again to dismantle the Seagulls. Counting Alseth, four players notched double-digits, including DJ Karl (16 points, seven rebounds, four assists), Andreas Simonsen (10 points, three assists) and Julian Gray (12 points). Sophomore Shayaan Shah also hit all three of his 3-point attempts to score nine points as the Warriors hit nine triples as a team.

Sophomore guard Noah Owens heated up in the second half to post a game-high 17 points for Everett while senior Michael Selders scored five points and added nine rebounds in his final game.

As the smaller team, Alseth said the Warriors’ goal was to keep the rebounding battle relatively competitive. Instead, the Warriors won it outright 21-20 and won the turnover battle 17-8.

The game was started on the sloppier side, with a combined five turnovers committed in the first four minutes. Everett took advantage of the awkward start, going up 6-5 just over two minutes in.

That would be the Seagulls’ last lead of the game.

Simonsen racked up several steals while the Warriors poured in three 3s off drive-and-kick situations to go up 17-7 after one frame. Seagulls head coach Bobby Thompson pleaded with his players to stop letting the Warriors get to their right hand. Everett defenders would also bite on ball fakes as the Warriors knifed into the paint at will.

The Seagulls were dealt an 11-2 run to end the first.

The beginning of the second quarter wasn’t much better. In fact, it was exactly the same — the Warriors hit triple after wide open triple thanks to the easy penetration to go on another 11-2 run over the first three minutes.

DJ Karl scored a game-high seven points in the frame and disrupted passing lanes to throw Everett off. With the lead well into the double digits, Harris Dobson scored a jump hook at the buzzer to put the Warriors ahead 34-17 at the half.

The Warriors pulled ahead even further in the opening minute of the third, as an unmarked Alseth scored a putback to force Thompson to call a timeout.

Owens, held to five points in the first half, began to take over for Everett. The sophomore leveraged his smooth handle to create space for two 3-pointers off the bounce and attacked the rim three possessions in a row to account for 10 of Everett’s 12 points in the quarter.

Still, the balance of the Warriors prevailed as five Edmonds-Woodway Warriors scored in a 20-point quarter.

“Sharing the rock tonight was exceptional, definitely one of our better games this year,” Alseth said. “We’re all great friends off the court, so on the court it’s easy to share the ball.”

The fourth quarter was more of the same, as sophomore big man Henry Selders, whom the Warriors focused on taking out of the game with extra coverage, managed four of his six points in the frame.

As the game drew to a close with the benches emptied, the Seagulls didn’t wear the typical demeanor of a team that was just eliminated. Many players smiled coming off the court as this young team had just been dealt a valuable lesson. Abrahm Aguanta, Owen Brunni and Michael Selders compose the just three seniors on the roster.

Michael Selders spent extra long hugging Thompson and shaking hands with his teammates coming off the floor.

“I love him,” Thompson said of his senior. “I’ve known Mike his whole life just because I went to high school with his parents, and I know the journey he’s been on.

“To get to watch him and his brother play together and see the joy they had together, it was special for me personally.”

With his brother Henry, Owens and promising freshman Gemini Jones returning, Geving suggested the Seagulls will be fun to watch for the next few seasons. With freshmen like Liam Adams coming off the bench and providing a defensive spark as well, the Seagulls don’t seem to be going anywhere soon.

On the other bench, the relief of moving on for a roster with six seniors was clear on the faces of the Warriors. Though they dominated in the regular season, the Warriors’ run to the state title game last year came in part because of a superhuman effort by Hiatt to carry the scoring load in Tacoma.

Even without a definitive “guy” this time around, Alseth isn’t worried about the Warriors’ chances at state.

“I think that’s going to help us, because if one person’s having an off-night, we just pass the rock and get it to who’s hot,” Alseth said.

His message for those who believe the Warriors’ run last season was a one-off?

“We’ll see … that’s all I can say,” Alseth said with a smile.