The Bellevue College men’s basketball team capped its amazing turnaround by earning a playoff berth with a gritty 70-63 victory at Everett on Sunday, while the Bulldog women relied on their depth to sew up the North Region No. 2 seed with a 72-56 victory over the Trojans.
The BC men (7-7 NWAC, 16-13 overall), No. 4 in the North Region, will play at Big Bend (13-1, 23-7), the No. 1 seed in the East Region, in the NWAC Regionals on Saturday, March 5 at 5 p.m. The BC women (12-2, 22-5) will host Clackamas (11-5, 20-9), the No. 3 seed in the South Region, in the Regionals on Saturday, March 5 at 3 p.m. at the Courter Family Athletic Pavilion.
The victory at Everett completed the remarkable climb up the North Region ladder by the BC men, who lost their first six league games before winning seven of their final eight, including Sunday’s win-or-go-home finale.
“That’s what I’m most proud of is that they’ve grown,” said Bellevue coach Jeremy Eggers, whose squad has only two sophomores. “They’ve listened, they’ve learned and they’ve tried to make the adjustments that we’ve asked them to and it’s paid off for them.”
The Bulldogs appeared in control late in the first half, opening a 33-19 lead before the Trojans hit a pair of 3-pointers to pull within 35-25 at the break. Everett continued the rally with the first 10 points of the second half to pull even at 35. BC opened a 43-36 lead on a layin by Jack Walton with 14:07, but the Trojans answered with seven consecutive points to tie it again.
Everett tied it for the final time at 49 with 7:32 left, but the Bulldogs responded with a 12-2 run, capped by Brian Zehr’s free-throw line jumper to make it 61-51 with 4:35 remaining.
Zehr hit the first of two free throws for a 67-61 lead with 42 seconds left, but Everett – which scored 14 of its final 18 points from the free-throw line – missed a pair of free throws with 35 seconds left. On the ensuing possession, Jordan Muir-Keung hit two free throws to put BC up 69-61 and make it a three-possession game with 32.7 seconds remaining.
“There were a lot of runs. We knew that was going to happen because they’re a very explosive team. They can score at any point in time from anywhere,” Eggers said. “I’m proud of my guys, the way they withstood everything and battled through it and persevered.”
Zehr, a 6-4 sophomore, led the Bulldogs with 22 points and 14 rebounds, while 6-6 freshman Jack Walton added 18 points and 7 rebounds.
The Bulldogs were just 2-of-14 from three-point range, but offset the outside struggles with a 49-37 advantage on the boards, including 14 offensive rebounds that led to a 14-5 edge in second-chance points.
In the women’s game, sophomore guard Mykala Jones poured in 27 points and freshman forward Erin Hamilton added 17 points and a team-high 7 rebounds to pace the Bulldogs.
BC trailed 30-24, but scored the final six points of the first half, including Jones’ steal and layin at the buzzer, to go in even at the break. The Bulldogs took control with a 12-2 spurt to open the third quarter and pushed the lead to 54-40 entering the final period.
“The first half, we didn’t really come out all that well,” said Bellevue coach Mel Stubblefield. “After halftime, I got into them a little bit and the third quarter and fourth quarter, that is kind of how we play basketball.”
Shelby Kassuba, the Bulldogs second-leading scorer and top rebounder, added 14 points, going 6-for-6 from the field with a pair of 3-pointers, but was limited to just 19 minutes due to foul trouble. Kassuba picked up her third foul with 8:27 left in the second quarter. Jones left the game with 5:29 remaining with what the coaching staff said was a leg cramp and did not return.
“That says a lot about this team and the depth that we have,” Stubblefield said. “The players on the bench, they’ve got to stay ready and tonight, that’s what happened. They stayed ready … knowing the game, staying focused, playing the game while you’re on the bench, that’s the biggest thing.
BC limited the Trojans to just 32 percent shooting from the field (16-of-50) and forced 21 turnovers, which were converted into 28 points.
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Last Updated February 29, 2016
