SHORELINE — The Scots of Shorecrest High School boys basketball did not come out onto their home floor to warm up until 10 minutes before tipoff. But when they came out, it was something to behold.
Shorecrest, now 10-0, hosted Cascade (2-6) on Monday night with a perfect season on the line. All indications of their loss column shifting were flushed just about as quickly as senior Devan Jones (11 points) threw down two early slams en route to a 17-0 Shorecrest start and an 84-35 win.
The Scots were led offensively by senior star Junior Kagarabi’s 32 points, as the 6-foot-5-inch wing hit six of his team’s 13 3-point field goals. Junior Brayden Fischer put up 17 himself as Scots rolled from all three levels.
But Shorecrest’s passing shined — the Scots posted 22 assists on 30 makes, and some possessions ended in more passes than dribbles. Senior guards Robel Biniam and Porter Swanson posted six assists each to lead the game.
The defensive end, however, is where Shorecrest head coach Eddie George saw his team excel. The Scots were louder than the home crowd at times, calling out screens and setting traps at every turn. That manner of play caused 23 Cascade turnovers and mirrored what George aims for whenever his team takes the floor.
“That’s what we do in practice every day, we work the same way we want to play the games. Which is strictly defense, defense and defense. In order to have good defense, you have to communicate,” said George. “Defense is the key that starts our offense.”
Still, Kagarabi’s main takeaway from the game is that that aspect of the team needs improving.
“I’d definitely say we’re working on our communication,” said Kagarabi, when asked what Shorecrest needs to focus on going forward. “Just for sure to keep the defensive intensity. And if we keep working together, talking to each other, trusting one another… the sky’s the limit for what we can do.”
For Cascade, the rough night on the road wasn’t a total loss. The Bruins showed fight in the second half, holding Shorecrest to 24 points while seniors Kolten Monteith (10 points) and Gavin Wright (8 points) paced Cascade on the offensive end all night.
Head coach Chris Gordon believes it was the kind of game that builds the character necessary to form a winning culture.
“It’s a great learning experience, especially for the guys that have never been through it. I’m super proud of them, the way they finished that second half. It’s super easy to be down 40 running clock,” said Gordon.
This winter marks Gordon’s first season coaching a Cascade team that does not have a feeder program or any other such developmental luxuries. The only way to build is to go through adversity together.
Nights like Monday bring more than enough of that.
“Hopefully trying to develop a tough program, a tough nose defensive program that gets after it,” said Gordon when asked how he envisions success at Cascade. “And then leaving the building with the respect of whoever we’re playing, win or loss.”
As Cascade focuses on playing hard and planting seeds for the future, Shorecrest has high hopes in reaping the benefits of what they have already built.
The Scots have eight seniors rostered and this team has seen the ups and downs the sport has to offer, together. Kagarabi has high hopes in what Shorecrest can do because of those experiences.
“The goal is to get the state championship. And there’s a lot of good teams in the state but we truly believe with our team chemistry, if we work together, we can win this whole thing.”
The Scots will have some more chances to prove themselves in the next week as they host 7-2 Arlington Thursday night and undefeated conference foe Edmonds-Woodway next Tuesday. The Bruins will get a shot to bounce back when they open conference play at Lake Stevens on Friday.
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