Bellevue College men’s basketball got off to a good start winning their first two games, but fell in the final round to host Spokane at the NWAC Crossover Tourney held Dec.15-17 at Spokane Falls CC.
On Thursday, Dec. 15, Bellevue defeated Mount Hood (OR) 87-79 behind the lights out shooting of Taylor Freeman (29 points), David Babayan (15 points), and Jordan Muir-Keung (21 points). The three of them tallied for 11 three-point field goals and 65 of the team’s points. Bellevue was red hot from long distance range in the first half, sinking nearly 60 percent of their three-pointers. More than half of their total attempts from the field were from three-point land. The hot hand in the first half was enough as the nine-point cushion at halftime kept the Saints trailing most of the game.
On Friday Dec.16, Bellevue’s offense continued to throw up points with a 97-86 win over Grays Harbor College. Freeman and Muir-Keung were again potent from the perimeter scoring 25 and 22 points respectively. Freshman Julion Mackey had an efficient night in all aspects scoring 14 points on 5-for-6 shooting from the field and 4-for-5 from the free throw line. He also had 5 rebounds and led the Bulldogs with 4 steals as well. Bellevue’s offense showed something down under after the previous night flashing dominance from long distance range as big man Max Tilden had 15 points and led BC with 10 rebounds.
On Saturday, Dec.17, Bellevue completed round-robin play by squaring off with host, Spokane CC and lost 98-79. Although Bellevue’s offense continued to show their ability to carry the club by shooting nearly 50 percent, the Bulldogs got beat underneath as Spokane outrebounded them on both fronts as Spokane matched Bellevue’s shooting percentage but also had 73 (14 more than BC) attempts to cruise to the win. Elijah Ticeson had a breakout game for Bellevue with 20 points on 10-for-13 shooting.
Bellevue is now 9-2 overall, sporting one of the top records in the NWAC. They travel to Yakima on Wednesday, Dec. 21 for a 2 p.m. tipoff before a nine-day break for the holidays before their next game.
Last Updated August 25, 2017
