The Bellevue Bulldogs began the second half of North Region play with a ferry trip to Bremerton to take on the Olympic College Rangers. Both teams came into the game well rested with a week between games for the first time in a month. However, the rest turned to rust as both the Bulldogs and Rangers shot below 37% for the first half.
Bellevue held a 15-point lead late in the first half and looked to put the game away, but the Rangers continued to fight and closed the halftime gap to just 10 points. In the second half, the Rangers employed a zone defense to slow the Bulldog offense further. Olympic was able to come all the way back and tie the game on two separate occasions late in the game. However, key free throws by BC sophomores Andrew Squiers and Alec Wilson gave the Bulldogs a lead that they did not relinquish in the closing minutes. Bellevue eventually pulled out a 71-63 road victory.
Bellevue relied on a balanced scoring attack without leading scorer Marcus Tibbs, who sustained a season-ending injury in the Peninsula game January 26. Four Bulldogs scored in double-digits: Reggie Clinton scored 16 points and grabbed four rebounds, Tyler Stracener had 12 points to go with his 5 rebounds, while Squiers and Wilson each added 11 points. Bellevue hopes to end their shooting woes as they return home for two important North Region games.
First, Bellevue hosts the high-scoring Dolphins of Shoreline Community College on Wednesday, Feb. 6, in the Courter Family Athletic Pavilion at 7:30 p.m., then, on Saturday, the Bulldogs welcome Everett Community College with a 6:00 p.m. tip-off. Both games hold playoff implications as Bellevue tries to hold onto their spot in the top four of the North Region.
Last Updated February 2, 2016
