EVERETT
In a Wesco 3A crossover seesaw battle, the visiting Shorecrest Scots put the Everett Seagulls on the ground when it counted.
The Feb. 12 playoff game at Everett High School saw numerous lead changes and wasn’t decided until the final buzzer sounded.
Shorecrest senior guard Peter Meyers drained a three-pointer to stun the Everett crowd, giving the Scots a 43-41 victory.
Shorecrest (8-13) led 40-39 with 28 ticks on the clock, but Everett’s (4-17) Mikey Nguyen made a lay-up with eight seconds to go to bring the crowd to its feet.
“When you hold a team to 43 points you expect to win the game,” Everett coach Aaron Nations said. “We just had too many turnovers. With four seconds left I thought we had the victory after Nguyen knocked it down. We must’ve had 15 turnovers in the second half.”
Trailing 41-40 with six seconds remaining, the Scots deflected an inbounds pass off a Seagull defender, landing out of bounds two seconds later.
With chants of “defense” from the small, yet vocal Everett student body, the Scots’ Meyers found an errant pass and sank the winning shot just before the game’s final buzzer.
“I’m the unlikely hero which just seems fitting after none of my shots were falling tonight,” Myers said.
What was Myers thinking with the game on the line and the clock ticking?
“I told myself it’s not over,” he said with a smile. “Last year we went four overtimes against these guys. With this team it’s never over. You’ve just got to play smart.”
The back and forth contest saw Shorecrest jump out to a 12-11 lead after one quarter, but the Seagulls rallied for a dozen of its own points to take a 23-22 lead into the locker room at halftime.
Ryan Dodge, a 6-foot, 4-inch Shorecrest junior, led all scorers with 19 points after tallying 14 in the first half.
Dodge scored early and often as he registered nine of the team’s 12 first-quarter points.
“It was amazing,” Shorecrest coach Brian Fischer said. “I don’t think anybody hit a three all game. I guess the timing was great. I really have to give credit to Travis (Hake) for knowing how much time was left on that last play.”
Despite being outscored in three of the four quarters, the Seagulls hung around and cranked up their defensive intensity in the fourth quarter.
The combined 17 points in the final frame, nine by Shorecrest, was the lowest offensive output in the game.
The Scots faced league foe Lynnwood Thursday after Enterprise deadlines.
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