Everett boys basketball ends Lynnwood’s late-season push

Published 11:45 pm Wednesday, February 11, 2026

EVERETT — When playoff basketball rolls around, it’s often wise to throw the records out the window. That mindset certainly applied when Everett boys basketball hosted Lynnwood at Norm Lowery Gymnasium for the District 1 3A Round of 12 on Wednesday.

After a 1-6 start to the season, the No. 11 seed Lynnwood scratched and clawed through two loser-out Wesco Crossover games just to make it to the No. 6 seed Everett’s court. It marked the program’s first district tournament berth since 2022, when it was the lowest seed of 16 teams to make the field back then, and the first time among the final 12 since 2010.

So when Lynnwood ripped off a 9-0 run late in the first quarter to take a 15-10 lead, Everett coach Bobby Thompson was not surprised.

“That’s a senior-laden group that’s really achieved a lot by getting to this, and they were not going to give up,” Thompson said. “So we knew they were going to give us a resilient fight, and they did.”

A corner 3 from Everett senior Owen Brunni in the final seconds cut the deficit to 15-13 entering the second quarter, where a pair of sophomores took over the game for the home side. As the team made adjustments and brought more focus to the defensive end, Henry Selders and Noah Owens traded buckets on the other side to give Everett a 28-22 lead by halftime, combining for all 15 of their side’s points in the quarter.

Through the second half, the Seagulls (15-8) held off the Royals (8-15) to secure a 57-48 victory and a berth into the quarterfinals.

Selders finished with 28 points and nine rebounds, and Owens had 18 points, eight rebounds in the victory. Everett needed players to step up in the absence of freshman Gemini Jones, who averaged 13 points per game but is out for the year with an undisclosed injury. Winners of five straight, the Seagulls are learning how to play without him.

“We had to focus on our defensive side of the ball,” Owens said. “And make sure that we were rotating better and do what we were supposed to do, sticking to the game plan.”

Lynnwood trailed by as little as three points early in the third quarter, but ultimately couldn’t keep up to extend its landmark season. Junior Cole Betancourt led the way with 14 points and five rebounds, while seniors Shan Shah and Hosny El-Aarag (eight rebounds, three blocks) each scored 10 points. Senior Wat Makuei blocked five shots, his 6-foot-7 frame imposing around the rim.

While nine seniors are set to graduate from the squad, Royals coach Anxhelos Pere believes the final stretch of the season, which included loser-out wins against Marysville Getchell (56-51 on Feb. 5) and Mountlake Terrace (65-54 on Feb. 7), provided valuable experience that the program can build off of.

“I told those guys they put their stamp on Lynnwood basketball,” Pere said. “And now anyone behind them has something to follow and look forward to try to beat and get better at, so those guys should be proud of what they did.”

After Everett pulled ahead 10-6 in the first quarter, Betancourt and senior Jaikin Choy pulled the Royals ahead. Betancourt drew a foul and knocked down two free throws before tying it 10-10 with a putback layup off his own miss with just under two minutes left in the frame. The 6-foot-4 forward kicked out to Choy on the next possession for a 3, and Choy scored again with a driving layup to make it 15-10 with around 30 seconds left.

Despite the run, the younger Seagulls side didn’t blink. Selders kicked off the second quarter by faking a 3-point attempt and driving to the basket, where he drew an ‘And-1’ to tie the game before putting Everett ahead 16-15 with the free throw.

“In the first quarter, I shot it and (the defender) jumped for it,” Selders said. “And so I was like, ‘I’ll just see if he’ll bite,’ and he did.”

Selders scored the next four points for the Seagulls, connecting on a baseline layup before hitting a jumper off an inbound pass. Owens responded in turn with the next four Everett points on a pair of layups. Lynnwood stayed within reach throughout the sequence, but couldn’t outpace the sophomore duo.

“I just think they’re both very uniquely gifted basketball players,” Thompson said of Owens and Selders. “I mean, (Owens) is one of the best playmakers in the state at his age. He’s just so unselfish, and he’s unbelievably quick and just kind of has a dimension to his game that not a lot of guards have.

“And then (Selders), we call him ‘Baby Jokic’ (after three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic) because he just has kind of this very uncharacteristically fundamental game where his footwork’s amazing, he passes well and he obviously finishes well.”

Shah scored three points in the final minute to cut it to 28-22, and a Royals’ 3-point attempt rattled out just before the halftime buzzer. It would have cut the deficit to three, but El-Aarag made up for it early in the third by splashing a 3 from the top of the key to cut it to 28-25. Owens connected with Selders on a bounce pass to make it 30-25 on the next possession.

Everett’s will on the offensive glass made the difference in the third quarter, as a couple of timely boards from senior Michael Selders (four points, 11 rebounds) led to a wide-open 3 for Owens and a putback layup for himself to stretch the lead to 37-28 with 3:30 left before the fourth. Owens closed the quarter by generating a Lynnwood turnover and trailing the ensuing fast break to score on a putback layup as time expired to extend the lead to 45-35.

“I think it was our rebounding gap,” Owens said. “The way we were able to rebound, get out and push the ball. I mean, we had a 38-22 rebound advantage, so that’s 16 more possessions. 16 more chances to score and get out.”

The Royals never let up, cutting their deficit to seven points with less than 90 seconds remaining on a couple of key plays from Shah, but Selders and Owens hit their free throws while freshman Micah O’Connell chipped in with a clutch basket and assist. O’Connell earned praise from Thompson after he stepped up in Jones’ absence in just his second varsity game.

“We brought (O’Connell) in, and he just came in and knew our game plan,” Thompson said. “He was just really wise beyond his years, and I felt like that really calmed us down on both ends of the floor, and then we started executing.”

The Seagulls punched their ticket to a quarterfinals matchup against No. 3 seed Snohomish on Friday. It’s Everett’s third straight season reaching the district quarterfinals, and the team hopes the third time will be the charm when it comes to advancing to the semifinals.

Despite fielding such a young roster, Thompson marveled at his players’ ability to meet the big moments. The Seagulls may be set up well for the upcoming years, but the players want ‘the future’ to start now.

“I feel like people, they underestimate us a lot because we got a lot of sophomores and freshmen,” Henry Selders said. “But I feel like we got a good shot.”