TACOMA — The No. 10-seeded Monroe boys basketball team, in their first state action since 2011, faced an experienced No. 2 Mt. Spokane in Wednesday’s round of 12 action. Coming off a 62-33 drubbing of Gig Harbor and a district title, the Bearcats looked to have a chance at the upset.
But an extension of a historic Monroe season wasn’t to be, as Mt. Spokane would pull out the win 48-39 thanks to a physical brand of basketball that resulted in a 41-21 rebounding disparity. This style of basketball left the District 1 champs without one of their biggest season advantages.
“We relied a lot on the fact that we’re usually bigger than (our opponents), so when we had a chance to play a team that was bigger than us, that kind of put us in a poor situation,” junior post Chayce Waite-Kellar (seven points, seven rebounds) said.
A 2-0 advantage early in the first quarter would prove to be Monroe’s only lead of the night, as Mt. Spokane’s Jaden Ghoreishi (24 points, 18 rebounds) would score 10 early points and snare offensive rebounds to give the Wildcats second-chance opportunities. By the final horn, Mt. Spokane won second-chance points 19-2. Despite the Ghoreishi’s solid start, the Bearcats only trailed by three at the end of the first quarter thanks to active hands forcing Wildcats turnovers.
The second quarter saw Monroe fall behind by eight, as the Bearcats managed five points in the frame after dealing with strong ball pressure from a Mt. Spokane squad that has placed third at state for the past two years. Monroe would finish the half shooting just 25 percent from the field, but there was another on-court issue that made the eight-point hole look like a 25-point cavern for head coach Justin Prohn.
“In the first half, we did some really uncharacteristic things… just our body language on some stuff and the way we were reacting isn’t like what we normally do. We had a talk about that at halftime,” Prohn said.
After some halftime rallying, the Bearcats got back to work and won the third quarter 8-7. Needing an energy boost while down 12 with 6:00 minutes remaining, Prohn called a timeout. He encouraged his players to increase their ball pressure as they exited the huddle, and that advice worked to the tune of a quick 6-0 run.
But Ghoreishi, in his imposing 6-foot, 8-inch frame, hit a catch-and-shoot 3-pointer and a putback layup to increase the lead to 13 with under four minutes to play. That final dagger would prove too much to overcome as Monroe’s season came to a close.
Though leaving Tacoma without placing was not the goal for the Bearcats, this season had plenty for fans to look back on fondly. Monroe ended the year with a 22-4 record, a Wesco 3A/2A North title and a hard-fought District 1 championship over fellow area state participants in No. 12 Shorecrest and No. 5 Edmonds-Woodway. To top it off, the loss marked the first Tacoma Dome appearance for Monroe in over 30 years.
For Prohn, Wednesday night’s game wasn’t the one to watch if you want to learn about the 2024-2025 Bearcats.
“I’m just really proud of my guys, I can’t let this game define our season because we did something that hasn’t happened in a long time in our community. This experience and this wisdom will be really big for us,” Prohn said. “Hopefully, we get a chance to be back here. There’s no guarantee on it.”
While there is never a guarantee on repeated success, least of all in high school sports, Monroe is better positioned than many typical state participants to learn from their experiences. Consistent contributors like junior Dominic Castillo, sophomore Isaiah Kiehl, junior Wyatt Prohn, Waite-Kellar and junior Caleb Campbell (team-high 11 points) will be back in orange next season as the Bearcats have just four graduating seniors.
“Over the last six years since coach Prohn took over, we’ve taken a lot of huge steps toward becoming a better program and this is a huge part — coming to the dome,” Campbell said.
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