NWAC Men’s Basketball: Lower Columbia College lowers the boom on Linn-Benton
Packed House — LCC puts on a show for home fans as Red Devils Classic warm up
Jordan Nailon / blastzonenews@gmail.com
The house was packed and the kids were jumping at Myklebust Gymnasium, Tuesday night, when the Lower Columbia College men’s basketball team defeated Linn-Benton 91-69 in non-region action.
While the victory won’t count in the standings at the end of the season, it did set a good tone for the upcoming Red Devil Classic tournament. With more than 450 people in attendance for the win over the Road Runners, the LCC squad has done everything it can to create a buzz around the team in time for their home showcase.
“I was really impressed with how we shared the ball last night,” LCC coach Mickey Polis said. “I thought we did a really good job of making the extra pass.”
The hosts handed out nearly 30 assists and all five Red Devils notched double figures in the scoring column, as did the sixth man off the bench. David Young scored 15 points to lead LCC, knocking down 4 of 5 three point shots and shooting 9 of 14 from the field in total. Strangely, he only made 1 of 6 free throws.
“He hit some big shots for us,” Polis said of Young. “There were moments where they were kind of making a run and he hit some big threes that put them back down.”
Lower Columbia jumped out to a 45-28 lead at half, and then kept roughly the same pace over the second half to secure the victory. The Red Devils shot 45 percent from the field as a team and won the rebound battle 50-38 over the visitors.
“It’s kind of how it’s been so far this year. We’ve only had one guy score over 15 points in a game,” Polis said. “We’ve had some really balanced scoring through our first four games of the season and I’m thinking that’s how it’s going to be going forward.”
Kap Laila posted a double-double with 11 rebounds and 11 boards in the win, and Camryn Berry chipped in 10 points and six rebounds off the bench.
Keshawn Lewis was second among equals in LCC’s starting bunch with 14 points and four rebounds. Malik Brown tallied 13 points, eight rebounds, five steals and four assists in the win, while Javares Reid added 12 points and a half dozen rebounds for the Devils.
Amir Locus dropped in eight points and six rebounds off the bench for the hosts.
Cade Smith led the Road Runners with 21 points and nine rebounds. Mesziah Ford added 11 points and seven rebounds in the loss.
The win makes it four in a row for the Red Devils after picking up a pair of wins last week.
Lower Columbia (4-0) will host Blue Mountain on Friday at 7 p.m. as part of the Red Devil Classic. Tournament action will continue at Myklebust Gymnasium all weekend.
Red Devils Classic
Lower Columbia College will welcome seven other teams to Myklebust Gymnasium this weekend for the Red Devil Classic. Those Thanksgiving Week visitors will include Centralia, Portland, Mt. Hood, Spokane, SW Oregon, Everett, and Blue Mountain.
“SWOC, and Everett and Spokane and Portland were all NWAC teams who went to the tournament last year,” Polis noted. “It’s going to be a good tournament.”
Centralia and Portland will get the action started at 1 p.m. on Friday at The Bust. Spokane and Mt. Hood will take the court at 3 p.m., Friday afternoon, and SW Oregon will play Everett at 5 p.m., when the weekend officially begins.
The Red Devils placed second in their own tournament last season.
“It’s really hard to win three games in a row, and only one team can do it in an 8-team tournament,” Polis said. “It’s nice to play in front of our home games after Thanksgiving. That’s sort of a tradition around here and we’re looking forward to it.”
The championship will be played at 4 p.m. on Sunday.
