Bulldogs Fall in Opener of Bulldog Classic

Bellevue College men’s basketball fell to Chemeketa 86-79 last night in opening-round play of the Bulldog Classic at Courter Family Athletic Pavilion. The evenly-matched game became a showdown between guards Trevon Richmond of Bellevue and Chemeketa’s Jaloni Gardner. Richmond again, for the third game in as many played this season, paced the Bulldogs with 26 points and was 15-for-18 from the free throw line. He led BC with 9 rebounds as well. Gardner tossed in a game-high 31 points and had 8 rebounds to lead the Storm to victory.

Two players underneath also came into play for both squads as Marshall Clark put together his second consecutive solid effort for Bellevue. The big man from Friday Harbor was 10-for-19 and had 25 points. Chemeketa’s force underneath Dalton Renne contributed 18 points but more importantly cut down on any potential second chances for BC’s offense by pulling down a game-high 18 rebounds.

Bellevue shot 50% in the first half but fell behind 44-41 heading into halftime as Chemeketa dominated ball control putting up nearly ten more shots in the first half. After intermission, the shooting touch went cold as Bellevue shot a paltry 8-for-36 from the field for only 22% after shooting the lights out in the first half. Bellevue stayed with Chemeketa all through the second half and cut the deficit to two 69-67 after a free throw by Clark with 2:56 remaining in the game. The twosome that led Chemeketa all night prevented any sort of a comeback from there on as a Gardner 15-footer along with a dunk by Renne put the Storm back up by six, 73-67 with a little over a minute to go. With 43 seconds in the game a key steal by Bellevue’s Trey Lawrence could have brought BC back to within two but the ‘dogs couldn’t cash in as Bellevue was forced to go into foul mode. Gardner came through in the clutch when he needed to, sinking both free throws with 36 seconds left to seal the win.

Bellevue takes on Walla Walla tonight on day two of the four-team round-robin tourney which also features Highline College. Tipoff is set for 6:00 p.m.

 

Last Updated November 23, 2019