Monroe spoils Jackson’s boys basketball season opener

“I believe, I believe that we have won!” chanted the small traveling contingent of the Monroe High School boys basketball student section in the waning moments of Tuesday night’s win at Jackson High School.

Their assumption was guided in no small part by the 20-plus-point lead their Bearcats had earned thanks to a fierce wire-to-wire performance against the Timberwolves. Monroe claimed the win 72-50 to push their record to 2-0 on the young season, dropping Jackson to 0-1.

Monroe head coach Justin Prohn was pleasantly surprised by his team’s ability to keep their foot on the gas pedal after jumping out to a 15-point halftime lead.

“They have a different gear than I expected,” said Prohn. “In years past we’ve been really methodical in our offense. Tonight they really did a good job of getting up and down really well and they shared the ball extremely well.”

Junior frontcourt duo Chayce Waite-Kellar and Dominic Castillo headed up Monroe’s attack on the glass, combining for over 20 rebounds on the night. In terms of scoring, the Bearcats were paced by an efficient 24-point night from Caleb Campbell, who knocked in three of his team’s six 3-pointers on the evening.

Campbell also delivered the only dunk of the game in the third quarter, flushing down a baseline drive to swing momentum back to Monroe while Jackson attempted to mount a comeback.

“We’re starting league play soon, but to come into a 4A school and just take it to them as a team, it just feels really good,” said Campbell.

It was a frustrating night for the home crowd, who disagreed vehemently with multiple charging-foul calls against Jackson in the first half. The Timberwolves had some bright spots on the night, however. Junior guard Seamus Williams appeased the restless student section with three athletic steals in an otherwise bleak first half and led Jackson in scoring with 17 points on the night.

For longtime Jackson head coach Steve Johnson, who was recently inducted into the Washington State Coaches Hall of Fame, it will take patience to get his team back to winning ways in the new season. Jackson had three first-time starters on the floor in the loss and had a 6-foot-7-inch hole in their lineup where recently graduated frontcourt star Ryan Mcferran once stood. Johnson suggested it was a tall order to take down a post-heavy team like Monroe this early in the year.

“We’re not the biggest team… but we must rebound better because we’re a good offensive transition team — but if we rebound like that, we can’t get out in transition,” said Johnson. “We’re more guard-oriented (this season), and we need to space the floor.”

Floor-spacing was tough to come by thanks to consistent pressure from Monroe to run shooters off the line. Monroe outshot Jackson 6-5 on 3-pointers made on the night.

Monroe will look to move to 3-0 in its home opener against Stanwood at 6 p.m. on Saturday. Jackson will have another opportunity to grab their first win of the season at home at 7:15 p.m. on Friday.