LAKE STEVENS — Monroe knew it was going to have to dig a little deeper than usual.
Playing without the services of third-leading scorer Tim Pearl (10 points per game), who went down with a broken hand in the Bearcats’ last contest, Monroe knew it would take a little extra heart to win while facing Lake Stevens on the road.
And the Bearcats played an inspired brand of basketball Friday night, defeating the Vikings 58-54 in overtime to move to within a game of Lake Stevens, which currently occupies fourth place in the Wesco North standings. The top four 4A teams in the division advance to the District 1 playoffs.
“Our goal tonight was to play with heart for (Pearl),” Monroe forward Jason Waltman said afterward. “He’s a key player for us and we put it together tonight.”
Without Pearl at forward, Monroe used consistent outside shooting and the dominating presence of the 6-foot-7 Waltman and 6-foot-6 James MacIntyre in the post.
The duo collected more than their share of rebounds as Monroe relied on them to provide them with a number of second-chance opportunities.
“One of our defensive keys was crashing (the backboards),” Monroe coach Brett Wille said. “I talked to our guys and said, ‘If you don’t make the shot, get in there and fight for position and try and get second chance opportunities.’ And I think that helped us down the stretch.”
For the first three-and-a-half quarters, it looked like Monroe would easily dispatch the Vikings.
A 3-pointer by Tim Ohlsen sparked a 9-0 Monroe spurt to end the first quarter, as Monroe led 15-8 after the first eight minutes.
Lake Stevens battled back by hitting five of six free throws in a two-minute span to briefly claim the lead at 22-21 with 2:20 left in the half, but a layin by MacIntyre and a three-point play by Waltman gave Monroe a 26-22 edge at intermission.
Quarter three was business as usual for the Bearcats, as Ohlsen and Jason Wright connected for 3-pointers as Monroe outscored Lake Stevens 13-4 over the final six minutes to lead 41-30.
The Bearcats appeared well in command until midway through the fourth quarter. After Monroe missed a shot, Vikings forward Sean Stickney was whistled for a technical foul, his fifth personal, after emphatically tusseling with MacIntyre for the rebound and slamming the Bearcat forward to the ground.
Playing without their leading scorer and unquestioned team leader seemed to inspire Lake Stevens.
After the ensuing free throw made it 48-38 Monroe, Shane Pilon buried a 3-pointer to pull Lake Stevens to within eight. The Vikings finally pulled even at 49 on a T.J. Dodge 3-pointer with 30 seconds left. Monroe was unable to get a shot off in the final 30 seconds, and the game went into overtime.
“I’m really proud of the guys battling back from that defecit,” Lake Stevens coach Mark Hein said. “Amazing—they’re just a resiliant bunch of guys.”
Dodge hit another 3-pointer at the 2:18 mark in overtime to make it 54-51 Lake Stevens, but MacIntyre answered with a 5-footer and Ohlsen buried his third 3-pointer of the evening to give Monroe the 56-54 lead. Waltman added two free throws with 18 seconds to give the game its final margin.
“Our guys just came together,” Waltman said. “We huddled together and said ‘Guys, let’s just finish this thing.’ We believed in each other and we believed we could do it.”
Waltman finished with a game-high 15 points and MacIntyre added 14. Wright and Ohlsen finished with 11 apiece.
Despite fouling out early in the fourth quarter, Stickney finished with 13 to lead the Vikings.
At Lake Stevens H.S.
Monroe15111589—58
L. Stevens8148195—54
Monroe — Bunge 5, Lucke, MacIntyre 14, Macke 2, Ohlsen 11, Waltman 15, Wright 11. Lake Stevens — Adams 8, Dodge 9, Elfeghih 2, Kurisu 8, Legg 6, Pilon 6, Russum, Schneider 2, Stickney 13. 3-point goals — Ohlsen 3, Wright 2, Stickney 1, Bunge 1, Pilon 1, Dodge 2. Records — Monroe 5-5 league, 8-6 overall. L. Stevens 6-4, 10-4.
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