Thanksgiving Invitational Tournament off to a great start!
November 28, 2004 @ 12:59 am
The First Annual Pierce College Thanksgiving Invitational Basketball Tournament got off to a great start, with first day action well worth the price of admission. In the opening game, the Washington Athletic Club All-Stars fought back from a 5-point half time deficit to hand the Gators of Green River Community College an 88-81 defeat. The All-Stars were led by their three big men; Brian Schwabe scored 19 points (8 of 12 from the field) and collected 10 rebounds, Jack Slavik had 15 points and 6 rebounds, and Jesse Bond chipped in 13 points and picked off a team high 11 rebounds. The Gators were led by the 22 points of sharp-shooting guard Zack Madren (6 of 10 from 3-point range), followed by Dwayne Wright with 12 points, 7 rebounds, and 9 assists.
The second game of the day saw another hard-fought contest as Bellevue Community College held off Lane Community College to earn an 80-70 first-round victory. The Bulldogs (BCC) were led by their big man, David White with 20 points and 6 rebounds, followed by 13 from Troy Johnson, and Joe Chartraw with 10. Bellevue shot 48% from the field, and used the charity stripe in the second half to their advantage, converting on 16 of 21 attempts. Lane's Titans featured balanced scoring, with four players in double figures; led by Joshua Akwenuke with 18 points, followed by Kyle Wortman with 11, and Maurice Ross and Owen Newman each with 10.
The Columbia Basin College Hawks had the easiest first round game, as they knocked off the Linfield College (JV) Wildcats 94-67. The Hawks used 17 first half points from Keegan Cook to take a 14 point lead at half time, and they never looked back, as they coasted to the win. CBC shot a solid 57% from the field, 42% from beyond the 3-point arc. Cook led all scorers, finishing with 20 points, and was followed by Derek Brown's 14 points, and Robbie Haynie's 13 points and 9 assists. The Wildcats were paced by Matt Ellerbrook's 12 points and 8 rebounds, followed by Stuart Mullins' 11 points, and Evane Freise's 10 points.
The final game of the day was a nail-biter, as the host Raiders from Pierce College used a strong defensive effort in the second half to overcome a 34-22 half time deficit to post a 60-55 victory over the Shoreline Community College Dolphins. The Raiders were led in scoring by Jacob Mitchell's 15 points, followed by Joe Widmann and David Howard each with 11 points. Widmann led the Raiders with 9 rebounds. Shoreline was led by Dawayne Cotton's 16 points (14 in the first half), and Maurice Reed also with 16 (and 10 rebounds). The depth of Pierce's bench was the telling factor, as they outscored Shoreline 22-6 for the game.
Pairings for Day 2 of the tournament, Saturday, November 27, will be as follows: Green River CC versus Lane CC, 2:00 p.m.; Linfield JV's against Shoreline CC, 4:00 p.m.; Washington Athletic Club versus Bellevue CC, 6:00 p.m.; and, Columbia Basin CC against Pierce College, 8:00 p.m. The tournament wraps on Sunday, November 28, with consolation games at 10:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m., and the championship game at 2:00 p.m. The tournament is being held at the Lakewood Community Center, 9112 Lakewood Dr. SW, Lakewood, WA
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