Bellevue brings end to Red Devils' season
Sunday, March 2, 2008 6:13 AM PST
By Rick McCorkle
rmccorkle@tdn.com
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E-mail this articleKENNEWICK - Too many missed layups, poor passing decisions and lack of work on the defensive boards plagued Lower Columbia College in a 70-63 loss to Bellevue in the consolation round of the NWAACC Men's Basketball Championships at the Toyota Center on Saturday.
LCC finished its season 22-9.
The Devils netted 14-of-26 shots while grabbing a 35-26 halftime lead, but slumped and made 37 percent of their shots in the final 20 minutes.
"We missed a lot of layups, and I don't know what that's a sign of other than a lack of concentration and execution," LCC coach Jim Roffler said. "Some of the guys were trying to put back the ball in the air instead of coming down with it and going back up strong and drawing the foul."
The Devils' sloppy passing resulted in 29 turnovers and 19 steals by the Bulldogs, and their lack of hustle on the defensive glass allowed Bellevue to grab 22 offensive rebounds. Bellevue converted the offensive boards in 10 second-chance points, and netted 25 points off the steals and turnovers.
"We gave up 22 offensive rebounds, 29 turnovers and the game goes down to the wire," Roffler said. "Those are the two areas you concentrate on the most. You can't give up easy buckets, and you need to concentrate during your possessions."
LCC managed 14 assists, compared to 13 assists and 16 turnovers for the Bulldogs.
"This is one of the worst passing teams we've had during my years at the college," Roffler said. "Our decision making of when to pass and what type of pass to use was very poor. It's frustrating, and hard to implement the offensive system and get the continuity we need on offense. Defensively we did a good job, but we got our backs broken because we didn't have enough on the offensive end."
The Devils led 53-44 following a Marice Tolliver layup with 8:35 left, but their offense went nearly silent for the next four minutes. A Michael Hallin putback was all that kept the Devils from going scoreless, while Bulldogs forward Michael Duty was taking charge under the Bellevue basket.
Duty scored 10 of his 18 points during the span as Yakima grabbed a 56-55 lead. Josh Troyer hit two free throws and a reverse layup to break the offensive ice for the Devils and a 59-56 lead with four minutes left. But Steve Wiseley drilled a trey and converted a floater in the lane, and Duty hit a layup as Bellevue led 63-59 with two minutes remaining.
Alex King converted a pair of free throws 18 seconds later to cut LCC's deficit to 63-61, but Josh Monagle netted two freebies with 1:26 left, and the Devils were unable to recover.
"We had some guys who weren't good practice players and didn't want to grind it out and prepare," Roffler said. "They kept telling me they'd be ready at the tournament, and obviously that didn't happen. We'll be losing a lot of people and will be younger next season, and we'll have guys who are committed to the program. We're still looking for a few more guys who want to be here for the long haul and want to get us back to the championship level."
Isaac Jimcoily led the Devils with 14 points and seven rebounds. Troyer hit 10 points, and Hallin added nine points and five rebounds.
Bulldogs 70, Red Devils 63
LOWER COLUMBIA (63) -
Isaac Jimcoily 14, Josh Troyer 10, Ryan Hoff 8, Elisha Moaning 6, James Gehring 0, Michael Hallin 9, Alex King 7, Robert Edwards 5, Marice Tolliver 4.
BELLEVUE (70) -
Josh Monagle 19, Michael Duty 18, Curron Singleton 12, Steve Wiseley 11, Randy Bolick 5, Travis Sterling 3, Sam Cartmell 1, Blake Pankow 1, Pete Harris 0, Lorenzo Campbell 0.
Halftime:
LCC 35, BCC 26
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