Led by second year Head Coach Daniel Thompson, the Trojans would march into a new season with the mission to get back to the NWAC playoffs. Under Thompson in his first year, last season the Trojans would have an elite eight finish with hopes to go farther. He learned things beyond the court that he carried with his coaching style onto this year.

“Just trying to build good habits that will carry over to the rest of their lives,” Daniel Thompson said. “I learned that it’s way more than basketball. We’re trying to get them prepared for life.”

“At the end of the day, it’s just more of like doing things the right way and like not cutting corners and just when they’re not learning things rather than like moving on, just like going that extra time and like making sure that they’re understanding concept and like learning things rather than being like, was like figure it out,” Daniel Thompson said.

After a jamboree in Centralia to get the team gelling together, the regular season began.

The season would tip off in Everett against Wenatchee Valley. The home crowd would be treated with quite the show, including a put back slam by a key addition sophomore forward Myles Shields. The game stayed close throughout but the Trojans, unable to force key stops, would fall 76-70.

Revenge would be served just a few days later with the Trojans traveling over 120 miles to Wenatchee Valley. A close defensive first half would have them trailing going into the break. Once the second half started the rim seemed to be the size of a garbage can as each team scored 50 points, with the score tied at 75 at the buzzer. They would find themselves in an overtime nail biter, ultimately coming out on top thanks to a Nate Harding three-pointer in the final seconds.

The next game of the season would welcome Northwest Indian College to Everett. A slow first half for the Trojans would have them take a 9-point deficit into the locker room, but the offense got back on track scoring 44 in the second half, giving them the win. Harding had a team high of 16, but sophomore forward Riley Weimer was close behind with 14 off the bench to help clinch the 72-66 win.

Red Devil Classic

The Trojans traveled south to play other NWAC teams outside the region for the weekend. Their opening matchup was against a very respected Southwestern Oregon team. Everett would struggle offensively this game due to a smothering defense by the opposing team and fall 63-36.

Putting the past game behind them, the Trojans would drop 50 points in the opening half against Blue Mountain. Harding lead the offense with 15 as they claimed a 78-49 victory.

The Trojans finale in the Red Devil Classic was against Mt. Hood. Freshman guard Shon Reid would not disappoint, scoring a game high 22 points leading Everett to a 65-58 win.

“I think the biggest thing, at least for our program is just them being around each other, being able to build chemistry, just getting out of Everett and just, you know, going to have some fun and other places,” Thompson said.

Big Foot Classic

With another opportunity to showcase their talents to the greater NWAC before March, Everett would first be matched up against Mt. Hood. Superb guard play was key in this close game for the Trojans. Reid and sophomore guard Jailin Johnson would drop 15 each, but Harding narrowly edged them out with 16 points going 7/7 from the field. Everett left with a 61-53 win over Mt. Hood.

Everett’s second game of the event squared off against Yakima College. From tip off, it was a close, fast-paced game. Both offenses getting the results they wanted all half would have Yakima take a 52-49 lead into halftime. It would go back and forth between the two teams, with the Trojans able to take a 9-point lead with eight minutes left on the clock. Yakima’s offense was relentless and kept battling, bringing them ahead by the five minute mark. Shots would simply not drop for the Trojans as they would fall 85-78. Harding led the team in scoring with 23 points and seven threes. Henry Ihrig left it all on the floor with a dominant double double of 10 points and 18 rebounds.

In their last game, the Trojans would face Spokane. A lot of positives for the team would bring a 3-point lead with them into the break. Halftime adjustments made by Spokane allowed them to outscore Everett by 13 in the second half. Shields contributed a 17-point and 16-rebound double double, with Reid also giving the Trojans 20 points as they lost 81-71.

Portland Crossover

With this being the last tournament event for the Trojans, they were determined to start off on the right foot against Blue Mountain. A total of four double-digit scorers for Everett with Harding leading the way with 20, would bring them a 87 to 79 victory.

Everett dropped the final two games of the event, losing 76-62 to Portland and falling in a close 56-54 match against Lower Columbia.

With their final non-region home game, the Trojans would welcome a rematch against Yakima Valley. An early double-digit lead thanks to superb shooting from Everett would allow a big cushion throughout the game. The Trojans did just enough to fend off a comeback and claim a 85-80 win at home. Harding would lead the team once again in scoring with 21.

Everett would travel to Tacoma in their last non-region matchup of the season. The Trojans were competitive the entire game, especially the first half, as they were able to bring a one point lead into the locker room. Reid had a good first half with 10 points along with a couple of threes. Unfortunately due to halftime adjustments by Tacoma coming out of the half, they were able to regain the lead. Tacoma would win the game 63-56 with Reid leading Everett in scoring with 16.

With non-region play wrapped up and the Trojans now with an even slate of 7-7, they traveled to Edmonds to start regional play on the right foot. Also marking a return for sophomore guard Jailin Johnson, who missed the previous handful of games with injury. Everett would rally back from an early double-digit deficit. After a back and forth second half, the Tritons would ultimately pull away 67-57.

To begin a two-game homestand at Everett, they would welcome Bellevue. With a close and exciting game from the tip the Trojan faithful were in for a good one. With back and forth action the entire second half, the Trojans would claim a 69-67 lead with a little under three minutes left, but could not unfortunately hang on as Bellevue would escape with a 78-74 win.

A highly ranked Skagit Valley came into Everett next, showing their dominance early by going into the locker room with an 18 point lead. Everett showed signs of life in the second half with spurts of offense to get them in striking distance but unfortunately gassed out as they would drop another region game 63-48.

The Trojans would be on the road against Shoreline still looking for their first region win. Harding from tip-off could not miss hitting his first three 3-pointers. The home team would always find answers to Everett’s offensive runs including a 11-2 run to cut the Trojans lead to one going into halftime.

Shoreline would have a 62-51 lead with under 10 minutes left, backing Everett into a corner. There would be no signs of quitting within the Trojans as they would be able to tie the game at 72 with 26 seconds left. A Shoreline miss with about 2 seconds left on the clock and a scramble for the rebound would find the ball in the hands of Ihrig. He would launch it 75 feet almost instantly to beat the buzzer as the ball would bank off the glass and in for the 75-72 win.

“It was a huge confidence booster, just get one win under your belt and having that winning feeling instead of going home, sad or just bad vibes the next day at practice, so I think it’s gonna carry on to the next,” Johnson said.

“We got off to a slow start this year, but we’re working our way back now,” Ihrig said.

Everett would return home the next game playing Olympic, where they made it clear they did not care about the heroics from the game prior by jumping out to an early double-digit lead. Everett came roaring back to eventually having the score tied at half. Two Trojans would secure double doubles — Johnson with 14 points and 11 rebounds, and Hayden Conaxis with a dominant performance of 22 points and 14 rebounds. This would be enough for Everett to get another region win 86-78.

“Last year we were top three of basically every offensive stat. This year is a lot different … it’s kind of been opposite, we’re like a really high level defensive team,” Thompson said. “We’ve just defended a high level the whole year, and that’s kind of like who we are.”

Injuries to the team has played a huge role in disrupting their offensive flow, with different lineups out every game.

“We’ve just kind of struggled to get in any kind of rhythm this year. I think part of that is we’ve been so injured … At one point we were down to like, we have 17 guys, 12 that are active, we were down to seven active players at one point,” Thompson said.

“I’m glad to have everybody back healthy again and just able to be on the court, perform, get our chemistry right,” Johnson said.

Every moment is now crucial with less than 10 games left in the season. The team members all know offensive improvements are vital for the team’s future success.

“Work for everything and the results will show,” Johnson said.