Red Devils Roundup: Catching up with Lower Columbia College athletics
Home Defense – LCC men’s hoops reclaims Red Devil Classic title
Jordan Nailon / blastzonenews@gmail.com
NWAC Men’s Basketball
Lower Columbia sweeps home tournament
The Red Devils mounted a comeback down the homestretch, Sunday, in order to knock off Spokane for the 37th annual Red Devil Classic championship at Myklebust Gymnasium.
Prior to the tournament LCC coach Mickey Polis promised it would be difficult for any team to win three games in a row, especially considering the quality of the teams in attendance. That prediction proved true, but sweeping the weekend was not outright impossible, as LCC battled down to the wire to defeat Spokane 62-60 for top honors.
“To get three wins, we’ve only done it twice since I’ve been here, because it’s tough. So it doesn’t happen too often,” Polis said.
Those victories came on the heels of a 91-69 win over Linn-Benton earlier last week, and left LCC’s unblemished record intact to open the season.
“Some guys had to step up,” Polis added. “David (Young) and Malik (Brown) and Keshawn (Lewis), I thought all of those guys played like sophomores. We needed them to step up and make some things happen for us.”
The Red Devils trailed 33-30 at the half against the Sasquatch, but 19 points from Malik Brown helped the hosts keep the title in Longview after placing second in their own tournament last season.
Zack Reighard led Spokane with 19 points, and Eli Hunter added 17 in the loss.
Javeres Reid is a name that could have gone overlooked in the box score, but who was essential to the LCC victories nonetheless.
“Especially in the last game. They had a big kid who can really score the ball around the rim as a legit post player,” Polis noted. “I thought he did a really, really good job toward the end of the game of playing physical and not letting him get a good look at the hoop.”
That player, 6-foot 8-inch Nate Visentin has been averaging a double-double with nearly 20 points per game this season. Against the Devils he still got his stas, but not as many, finishing with 10 points and 13 rebounds.
Reid also came up in huge on what turned out to be the game-winning play when he rebounded a missed shot by Young and put it back up. While Reid’s attempt also rolled off the rim, it allowed Amir Locus to fly in for another offensive board and the go-ahead bucket.
Lower Columbia’s length on the block helped them to win the rebound battle 40-31, which was instrumental in overcoming a relatively cold afternoon shooting from the floor.
While Brown was the only Red Devil who scored in double figures, nine players reached the scoring column in total. David Young added nine points and seven rebounds for LCC, while Camryn Berry put up eight points and grabbed six rebounds.
LCC wins the Lake-show
On Saturday the Red Devils beat Southwest Oregon 79-67 in the semifinals, which was the first loss of the year for the Lakers. Lower Columbia built up a 10-point lead by halftime and then rode out the victory with an emphasis on defense.
David Young led LCC with a game-high 24 points on 13 of 21 shooting from the floor. That mark included knocking down 4 of 7 shots from long range, and he grabbed six rebounds for good measure.
Luke Fotheringham led SWOC with 13 points. Kam DuPaix added 12 points and Colby Whicker finished on 11 in the loss.
For the Red Devils, Keshawn Lewis added 21 points and four assists in the win, while Kap Laila tallied a 10-point and 19-rebound double-double.
Red Devils roast Blue Mountain
The Red Devils opened the tournament by defeating Blue Mountain 84-52 on Friday evening. Lower Columbia cranked up the offense in the second half to pull away from the Timberwolves. Malik Brown led LCC with a team-high 17 points to go with five rebounds, four assists and four steals.
The hosts led just 35-24 at the intermission. Henry Begay led Blue Mountain with a game-high 18 points to go with four rebounds.
Hard work on the boards helped the Red Devils put a stranglehold on the game. They out-rebounded the T-Wolves 42-32 in the contest.
Amir Locus chalked up a double-double off the bench for LCC with 16 points and 14 rebounds. James Grose added 11 points for the Red Devils reserve unit.
In the starting group, David Young posted 12 points, three rebounds, three assists and two steals in the win, while Keshawn Lewis added 11 points and three rebounds.
“The beginning part of the year is about finding out about your team,” Polis noted. “I think this weekend showed us some of the things we are good at and some of the things we need to improve upon and prepare for as we go along.”
Lower Columbia (7-0) will be back in action on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. against Clark College at Myklebust Gymnasium.
All The ‘Classic’ Scores
From Myklebust Gymnasium
Friday
Portland 85, Centralia 61
Spokane 67, Mt. Hood 65
Southwest Oregon 63, Everett 36
LCC 84, Blue Mountain 52
Saturday
Mt. Hood 55, Centralia 52
Spokane 81, Portland 70
Everett 78, Blue Mountain 49
LCC 79, SWOC 67
Sunday
LCC 62, Spokane 60
Blue Mountain 75, Centralia 57
Everett 65, Mt. Hood 58
SWOC 100, Portland 69
NWAC Women’s Basketball
LCC falls twice in Utah but passes stress test
The Red Devils were looking for a challenge when they signed up to play at Snow College in Ephraim, Utah, and they got all that and more after making the long trek beyond land of red rocks and salted lakes to a world of white caps and heady junior college hoops.
Lower Columbia fell 73-55 on Friday in a competitive game that was precisely what the Red Devils were after. On Saturday, though, the visitors ran out of gas on the court and had to settle for hard-earned lessons in a 83-33 loss.
Those losses followed a six-day turnaround after a 69-54 loss to Peninsula at home. But it was far from a wasted trip.
“They are a Top-25 NJCAA in the nation,” LCC coach Lucas Myer noted. “Played them close and tough (Friday). (Saturday) we played a bigger rotation and didn’t have the legs on the back to back, especially at 6,400 feet.”
Reigha Niemeyer did her best to keep LCC close in the first contest with a team-high 17 points to go with eight rebounds. Karlee VonMoos narrowly missed a double-double with 12 points and 9 rebounds.
However, the Red Devils struggled from the field, including just a 20 percent mark from long distance. Those misses, and a few too many turnovers, led to easy transition buckets for the hosts as they pulled away late.
In the rematch, LCC was glad to see Maris Baklund get her turn to lead the team in scoring with nine points. VonMoos continued to battle under the basket, as per usual, and tallied a team-high 11 rebounds to go with six points.
Niemeyer added seven points and three steals, while Michaela Medico earned a nod from the LCC brain trust for her efforts on both ends of the court. But hustle wasn’t enough to make up for a 22.4 percent shooting percentage as a team.
Lower Columbia will host Clark College on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. as the first chapter of a men’s/women’s doubleheader against the Penguins. The LCC men’s team is slated to take the court at 7:30 p.m.