Devils return to court, rout GR for 12th straight win
Sunday, February 3, 2008 7:08 AM PST
By Rick McCorkle
rmccorkle@tdn.com
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E-mail this articleLower Columbia College men's basketball coach Jim Roffler isn't a fan of the bye week that is awarded twice to every team in the NWAACC Western Division during the league season.
"I'm not really fond of it, because we were playing well and I didn't want to take that week off," Roffler said. "We had a tough stretch before that with five games in 11 days and four in a week, and it would've been nice to keep up that momentum. I thought defensively we lost our edge a little after sitting for a week."
The Red Devils shook off the rust in the first half and turned up the tempo in the final 20 minutes to run away with an 83-65 victory over league rival Green River at Truman Myklebust Gym on Saturday.
LCC (16-5, 9-0 league) won its 12th straight game, the second-longest winning streak among NWAACC men's basketball teams this season. The Devils' magic number is four to clinch the division crown.
"I've tried to explain to our players that the second half of league is a grind," Roffler said. "You have to be more physical, which we weren't, and you have to fight for position and not let teams into the paint and break you down."
Five LCC players scored in double figures, led by Michael Hallin with 16 points. Josh Troyer and Alex King added 13 apiece, and James Gehring and Elisha Moaning came off the bench to chip in 12 and 10, respectively.
Troyer noted similarities between the first and second meetings with the Gators.
"The first time we played them we were ahead at halftime, but they came back on us before we took off the last few minutes," Troyer said. "I think they were a little more prepared for our offense and knew what we were trying to do."
LCC took a 19-10 lead on a 7-0 run, highlighted by a 3-pointer from the right corner from Gehring with seven minutes left in the half. But the Gators, who were coming off a victory over Pierce at home on Wednesday, refused to fade.
Green River outscored the Devils 19-12 for the remainder of the period and trailed 31-29 at the break.
"You have to give them credit because they're an athletic group and have an inside presence," Roffler said of the Gators. "They're tough to guard and match up with. They played a lot of zone defense, and we didn't do a good job attacking it."
The Devils opened the second half with seven free throws as part of a 9-2 run for a 40-31 lead. Green River countered with 5-foot-11 guard Dave Massington, who scored half of his 18 points in the next six minutes as the Gators trimmed LCC's lead to 54-50 midway through the period.
Massington hit 5-of-18 shots, which included going 0-of-4 from outside the arc, and hit 8-of-11 free throws. His many trips to the charity stripe resulted from driving to the hoop and getting fouled.
"We made him look like Boston College All-American John Bagley, who is built similarly," Roffler said of Massington. "He missed all of his 3s, so we should've been a little smarter and made him shoot more from the outside instead of penetrating."
A 9-0 run by the Devils, which included two layups and a 3-ball from Gehring, gave the hosts a 63-50 lead with 7:15 left. Green River managed to trim its deficit to 65-58 with five minutes left, but could get no closer.
"When we threw the zone on late in the game, they (the Gators) hadn't seen it and were in their man-to-man mentality. So they didn't get a lot of good opportunities," Roffler added. "We can learn from this, because everyone wants to be the first team to beat us in league."
Hallin and Marice Tolliver also grabbed eight rebounds apiece. King and Ryan Hoff dished five assists apiece, with Troyer handing out four.
The Red Devils visit Pierce on Wednesday.
Red Devils 83, Gators 65
GREEN RIVER (65) -
Giovanni Lee 23, Dave Massington 18, Travis Wagner 8, Jade Collier 7, Jordan Paulson 2, Montreal Moore 7, Mitchell Landis 0, Wren Anthony 0.
LOWER COLUMBIA (83) -
Michael Hallin 16, Josh Troyer 13, Alex King 13, Robert Edwards 7, Marice Tolliver 6, James Gehring 12, Elisha Moaning 10, Ryan Hoff 4, Isaac Jimcoily 2, Chris Coleman 0.
Halftime:
LCC 31, GR 29.
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