Upsets Galore: Pair of #3 Seeds Advance to NWAC Men's Basketball Finals
EVERETT, Wash. – In a tournament full of upsets, the NWAC Men's Basketball Championships semifinal round featured perhaps the two biggest upsets of the tourney, with Bellevue College and Yakima Valley College advancing to meet in the finals with wins on Saturday.
Game 1: Bellevue 84, Wenatchee Valley 76
The Bulldogs opened a wild day by defeating one of the tournament favorites on the men's side in Wenatchee Valley. Going against of the top offenses this season, Bellevue needed a strong shooting performance to match the high-powered Knights' attack. The Bulldogs got just that as they shot 51.7 percent from the field and a red-hot 53.8 percent from behind the arc.
Seven different Bellevue players made a three-pointer in the game as the team made 14 total triples. Maui Sze led the team with four made threes, dropping 24 points to go along with seven assists. Three other players reached double-digit scoring including Griffin Barker with 12 points, Ben Olesen with 11 and Nate Johnson with 10. Olesen had a great defensive game on the perimeter with five rebounds, four steals and three assists while Johnson matched him with four steals, three assists, six rebounds along with three blocks.
The Knights used their advantage in the front court and dominated the rebounds 45-34 and especially on the offensive glass 17-6. Anthony Roy had 24 points with 11 rebounds and six assists. Isaac Jones finished with 20 points and 19 rebounds including nine offensive boards. Isaac Brown added 11 points and Bryson Faison had 10. Nian Allen had seven points with 10 rebounds.
The Bulldogs advance to the NWAC title game looking for their first championship since 1993.
Game 2: Yakima Valley 77, Olympic 76
Yakima Valley continued the excitement with a thrilling comeback victory against Olympic. Trailing by six point with 43 seconds to play, the Yaks hit three pointers on three-straight possessions to shock the Rangers 77-76.
Coming off the bench in the final minute, Mason Tinley gave the Yaks the boost they needed. Tinley made his first attempt of the game with 36 seconds left, a three pointer that cut the Olympic lead to 74-71. After a pair of made free throws, Quentin Raynor knocked down another trey with 19 seconds left to make the score 76-74. After a timeout, Tinley came up with a steal on the ensuing inbounds and knocked down another three-pointer to give the Yaks the one-point lead 77-76 with 12 seconds to go. On Olympic's final possession, the Yaks came up with the defensive stop to complete the incredible comeback.
Alexzander Delgado led YVC with 18 points and six rebounds. Raynor had 15 points with five assists, Conner Turner added 14 points with six assists and Bright Kari had 10 points and five rebounds. The Yaks made an impressive 55.4 percent of their shots, including 46.7 percent from behind the arc.
On the other side, Aundree Polk continued to lead Olympic with 28 points and nine rebounds. Caleb-Tyree Morgan had 12 points off the bench and Tyler Williford added 10 points with nine boards. The Rangers led for much of the second half, but struggled to find a basket down the stretch. They finished with 11 made three pointers and were efficient at the free throw line going 17-for-23.
The Yaks advance to the NWAC finals, looking for their fifth championship overall and first since 2008. Game time between the Yaks and Bulldogs is set for 2 p.m. on Sunday at Everett CC's Walt Price Court.
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Contact: Iain Dexter; idexter@clark.edu