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Going into their District 1 3A Boys Basketball Tournament quarterfinal contest on Friday, the Meadowdale Mavericks knew they were in for a challenge: facing the Monroe Bearcats, the tournament’s No. 2-seeded team and defending District 1 champion (and current No. 9- ranked 3A team in the state) on the Bearcats’ home floor.
And then when Monroe went on a 16-0 first-quarter run to build up an early 20-5 advantage, prospects for a Mavericks’ strong outing looked dim.
But Meadowdale was able to shake off the poor start, slow down the Bearcats’ momentum and create a little of their own.
With an offensive punch not seen in the first half, the Mavericks were able to make a game of it. Yet Monroe proved too much in the end, scoring some key buckets late and escaping with a 55-51 victory over the never-give-in Mavericks.
After trailing by as many as 14 points in the game, Meadowdale climbed back to within two points, 53-51, with 3.3 seconds remaining. But the Mavs never got a chance for a tying (or winning) last-second shot as Monroe’s Isaiah Kiehl grabbed the rebound of his own missed free-throw attempt with 2.1 seconds to go and scored with a comebacker as time expired to secure the Bearcat victory.
While the loss was heartbreaking for an underdog Meadowdale team that surged in the second half, Coach Roger O’Neill found reason to be positive after the game.
“I’m just super proud of how hard we competed tonight,” O’Neill said. “It’s a tough place to play against the defending District champs, a really good team. It’s a gut punch because you feel like you’re right there. But I’ll lose like that, going down swinging. Our guys fought their butts off. I’m just really proud of them.”
The Mavericks led only once in the contest, at the 6:34 mark of the first quarter when Noah Million’s 3-pointer gave Meadowdale a 5-4 advantage. But then some sloppy Mavs’ passing created easy opportunities for Monroe to score. The Bearcats led 20-9 after the first quarter and looked to make the game a runaway.
“I think, honestly, their big scoring quarter was more to do with our offense than anything,” O’Neill said. “Because they had some runouts. We turned the ball over too much. Once we started taking care of the ball, we were getting stops.”
The Mavericks were able to slow down Monroe in the second quarter, holding the Bearcats scoreless for a five-minute stretch and just eight points for the entirety of the quarter. Still, Meadowdale trailed 28-18 at the half.
The Mavs’ offense showed more signs of life in the second half, closing the gap to within seven points, 40-33, in the final seconds of the third quarter before Kiehl dropped a short jumper at the buzzer.
“I thought the biggest difference was we were in real attack mode in the second half,” O’Neill said of the Mavs’ offensive push after halftime. “We started playing confidently on offense. We’ve got a lot of good basketball players and when they play confidently, and they’re attacking, good things are going to happen. I thought we were a little passive in the first half and then just started playing ball in the second half.”
Monroe was able to stretch out their early fourth-quarter lead to 14 points briefly after some fireworks from Kiehl (a dunk in the first minute and a 3-pointer at the 6:54 mark). But Meadowdale’s Nolan Lee answered with a 3-pointer of his own 18 seconds later.
Lee added two free throws and a couple drives for points to draw the Mavs to within three points, 51-48, with 1:21 to go in the game. After two free throws by Kiehl pushed the Monroe lead to 53-48, Meadowdale’s Hasaan Motley was credited with a 3-pointer when his shot was affected by a Monroe player pulling on the basket’s netting with 3.3 seconds to go, shrinking the Bearcats’ lead just 53-51.
But Kiehl’s last-seconds heroics kept the Mavericks in check and gave the Bearcats the victory.
Kiehl led all scorers in the game with 27 points; Dominic Castillo added 12 points for the Bearcats (18-3 overall).
Lee and Million paced the Mavs with 15 points each, with Lee scoring nine of his in the heart-pounding fourth quarter. Motley contributed 13 points in the loss.
O’Neill said he was pleased with Lee taking advantage of his increased playing time as usual-Mavericks’ starter Marley Miller is unavailable to the team right now.
“He makes plays all the time,” O’Neill said of Lee. “He’s been scoring the ball his whole life. It’s really cool to see him come to life against really good competition and make those plays. None of those plays were surprising to me; I see it all the time. But I’m glad other people get to see it now too.”
While Friday’s loss knocked No. 7-seeded Meadowdale (17-7 overall) out of contention for the District 1 3A Boys Basketball Tournament title, the team can still qualify for a berth in the 3A state tournament later this month by winning a pair of loser-out tourney games. Considering the fight they showed against Monroe, O’Neill thinks his squad has a good shot at stringing together two W’s.
“I think this team showed themselves and everyone something tonight,” O’Neill said. “If we compete at that level, compete that hard and play that hard, the ball’s going to go in enough for us. So we’ve just got to do that two more times. It’s not guaranteeing wins or anything because everyone is good at this point, but we’re going to give ourselves a really good chance if we compete like that.”
The Mavericks will next face the No. 6-seeded Everett Seagulls on Tuesday, Feb. 17, in a District 1 tournament loser-out game. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. at Everett High School.
To view the entire District 1 3A Boys Basketball Tournament bracket, click www.wpanetwork.com/wiaa/brackets/tournament.php?act=view&tournament_id=5044.
Prep Boys Basketball: Meadowdale at Monroe, Feb. 13 (District 1 3A Boys Basketball Tournament quarterfinal game)
Meadowdale 9 9 15 18 – 51
Monroe 20 8 14 13 – 55
Meadowdale individual scoring: Noah Million 15, Nolan Lee 15, Hasaan Motley 13, Khalil Botley 5, Richard Jones Jr. 2, Orion Ezeonwuka 1, Jackson Greene, Parker Elliott
Monroe individual scoring: Isaiah Kiehl 27, Dominic Castillo 12, Wyatt Prohn 5, Caleb Campbell 4, Caden Ganashamoorthy 3, Tate Hammerquist 2, Liam Reed 2
Records: Meadowdale 9-3 in 2A/3A Wesco League South Conference, 17-7 overall; Monroe 9-1 in 2A/3A Wesco League North Conference, 18-3 overall
Meadowdale next game: versus Everett; Tuesday, Feb 17; 7 p.m. at Everett High School (District 1 3A Boys Basketball Tournament loser-out game)
Monroe next game: versus Snohomish; Tuesday, Feb. 17; 5 p.m. at Edmonds-Woodway High School (District 1 3A Boys Basketball Tournament semifinal game)
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