Red Devils stretch win streak to 8
Sunday, January 20, 2008 7:26 AM PST
By Rick McCorkle
rmccorkle@tdn.com
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E-mail this articleAnyone who follows Lower Columbia College men's basketball knows coach Jim Roffler has high expectations for his players.
When one or two players aren't giving all they have each night, he's the first one to notice.
"I have to do some investigating as to why a couple of the guys were tired early in the game," Roffler said. "I don't know if they're facing a touch of the flu, or maybe too many late night movies. We have to show maturity and be ready to go every night."
Roffler's Red Devils stumbled through the first 10 minutes of Saturday's NWAACC Western Division matchup with Centralia before
LCC
running away with a 77-46 victory at Truman Myklebust Gym.
The victory is the eighth straight and 12th in the last 14 outings for the sixth-ranked Red Devils, now 12-5 and 5-0 in the division. Centralia fell to 2-12 and 1-4.
Centralia went toe-to-toe with the Devils for the first 10 minutes of the game, and led 20-17 with 8:30 left.
"Centralia is a very methodical team offensively," Roffler said. "They (the Blazers) will run their stuff and capitalize on a defensive mistake. You have to show defensive patience and keep up the intensity for the whole possession or they'll make you pay."
LCC came alive and outscored the Blazers 20-4 through the remainder of the period, including three putback layups from Michael Hallin.
Hallin hit 11-of-14 shots en route to a game-high 22 points. He completed a double-double with 10 rebounds including four offensive caroms.
"Our offense was really working for us," Hallin said. "We had a lot of cuts and slashes going backdoor. Alex (King) and I were working the inside post and we got a lot of easy buckets on lay ins."
Despite the Devils' strong finish to the first half, Roffler wasn't happy.
"I wasn't really pleased with our effort for most of the first half," he said. "We want to show some improvement because we have three games in the next week. That's a tough run and we wanted to do some things better than we have."
The Devils carried their red-hot offense into the second half by outscoring the Blazers 20-2 in the opening minutes for a 57-26 lead.
"We were really feeling it, and I was trying to push hard on the floor and run the lanes," Hallin said. "The team is getting better, and on any night anyone can blow up for 25 points. Our offense isn't based around one player."
The Devils' offense cashed in on 57 percent of its second-half shots (16-28) while building towards a 30-point lead midway through the period.
"Our zone offense needed a little work so we concentrated on getting to the right spots quicker," Roffler said. "Our tempo is better in the zone, and we got a lot of easy looks and easy buckets off it."
LCC also outrebounded Centralia 44-24. Josh Troyer added 13 points and dished five assists, King had 11 points and four assists, and James Gehring grabbed nine rebounds and had four assists.
LCC visits Highline Monday.
Red Devils 77, Trailblazers 46
CENTRALIA (46) -
Reggie Rogers 15, Marquis Matthews 12, Jordan Riippi 9, Robbie Graham 2, Aaron Phillips 0, Johnnie Stroud 4, Devin Breeze 2, Jeremiah Collins 1, Travis Merriman 1, Joe Nelson 0.
LOWER COLUMBIA (77) -
Michael Hallin 22, Josh Troyer 13, Alex King 11, Robert Edwards 6, Marice Tolliver 6, James Gehring 7, Isaac Jimcoily 5, Elisha Moaning 4, Ryan Hoff 3, Chris Coleman 0.
Halftime:
LCC 37, Cent 24.
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