Penguins put end to Red Devils' 17-game winning streak
Thursday, February 21, 2008 5:45 AM PST
By Rick McCorkle
Printable version
E-mail this articleAfter locking up the NWAACC Western Division title in Saturday's victory over Highline, Lower Columbia College could've used Wednesday's final home game with Clark as a tune-up for the upcoming NWAACC Men's Basketball Championships.
But the Red Devils laid a giant egg that the playoff-hungry Penguins gobbled up as they devoured LCC 82-61 at Truman Myklebust Gym.
"I pleaded with our guys for two days that Clark was desperate and needed to win this game to stay in the playoff picture," LCC coach Jim Roffler said. "They (the Penguins) were coming off a bye and were fresh, and they will battle for anything they can get. Their tempo was far superior to ours, and they beat us in all phases of the game."
The loss snapped LCC's 17-game winning skein, dropping the third-ranked Red Devils to 21-6, 14-1 in league. The victory kept Clark (15-12, 8-7 league) in contention for the division's third or fourth seed into the tournament.
"Anyone will tell you that you need to lose a game at some point to wake up, and there's no question our play has been deteriorating the last few weeks," Roffler said. "A lot of guys were taking the streak for granted and we've been getting fundamentally poor. Hallelujah the streak is over, and we can get back to basics and reestablish our work ethic and heart."
A strong case apathy on the part of the Devils in the first half led to Clark grabbing a 40-24 lead at halftime. While a few of the LCC players scrapped and worked hard to the final horn, many of them appeared to be going through the motions, which didn't please Roffler.
"We took this game for granted," he said. "You win a lot of games in a row and think you're good, and we thought we'd show up tonight and it would be another good LCC performance."
The Devils' sorry first half included 16 turnovers and 41 percent shooting (9-of-22), while Clark hit 16-37 shots, made 10 steals and had a season-low three miscues.
The Penguins continued their torrid assault on the Devils' defense in the second half, outscoring the hosts 16-7 to take a 56-31 lead five minutes into the period. LCC managed a layup from Alex King and a handful of layups in the next four minutes as Clark built a 64-38 advantage with 11:25 remaining.
After an LCC timeout, Robert Edwards drilled back-to-back 3-pointers, and Ryan Hoff added a pair of jumpers as the Devils trimmed their deficit to 66-48, but a 14-4 Clark rally gave the Vancouver team an 80-52 lead with 3:30 left.
The Devils tallied 28 turnovers, with every player collecting at least one miscue. Clark fed off the LCC misfortune, converting 27 points off the Devils' errors.
"We've had some negative things creeping in the last few weeks," Roffler said. "We haven't been in a good routine lately in our daily lives, and that happens when you take things for granted. I'd hate to think we've been stumbling through a couple of games before we get to the tournament thinking we had all of the answers."
Alex King led the Devils with 16 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Michael Hallin added 11 points, Isaac Jimcoily grabbed eight rebounds, and Ryan Hoff chipped in nine points and seven rebounds.
The Red Devils close out their regular-season with South Puget Sound in Olympia Saturday.
Penguins 82, Red Devils 61
CLARK (82) - Orlandor Westbrooks 17, Bryan Martin 15, J.C. Alexander 12, Tommy Allen 11, Garrick Ashenfelder 2, Demetrick White 7, Brandon Jones 12, Louis Lee 6, Keith Jordan Moilanen 0, Logan Williams 0, Jay Mercer 0.
LOWER COLUMBIA (61) - Alex King 16, Michael Hallin 11, Robert Edwards 8, Josh Troyer 7, Marice Tolliver 4, Ryan Hoff 9, Elisha Moaning 4, Isaac Jimcoily 2, James Gehring 0, Chris Coleman 0.
Halftime: Clark 40, LCC 24.
Fishrat wrote on Feb 21, 2008 7:22 AM:
10 more days wrote on Feb 21, 2008 10:24 AM:
Re: wrote on Feb 21, 2008 11:00 AM:
Past Month's Most Commented Stories