Raiders face Whatcom in Crossover Championship match up
December 19, 2004 @ 12:44 am
The Pierce Men (7-3) will face the host Orcas of Whatcom Community College, in Sunday's title game of the NWAACC Crossover Tournament. The Raiders used their stifling defense to shutdown Edmonds CC (3-4) in Saturday's semi-final round game, to post a 71-65 victory, and earn their way into their second tournament championship game of the season. Pierce was once again led by a balanced team effort on Saturday, led by Devon Connor-Green (15 points, 6 rebounds, Clem Benton (12 points), and David Howard (10 points, 11 rebounds). Trivone Curry had an outstanding all around effort with 9 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 steals. Joe Widmann continued to improve his value to Coach Bill Mendelson, as he chipped in 8 points while grabbing 7 rebounds.
In the opening day of the tournament, Pierce used their patented second half pressure defense to pull away from previously undefeated Big Bend CC (7-1), and take a 87-79 win from the favored Vikings. Clem Benton paced the Raiders with 25 points, on 6-14 from 3-point range, to go along with his 7 rebounds and 6 steals. Devon Connor-Green added 16 points, with Joe Widmann chipping in 13 points and grabbing 4 boards.
Sunday's championship game is a re-match of Pierce's season opener, that saw Whatcom pull away in the final minutes for an 84-75 win. The Raiders return home on December 28 for their final pre-season game against the Washington Athletic Club All-Stars, starting at 8:00 p.m. Pierce opens league play on the road against Centralia CC on Monday, January 3. Tip-off is at 8:00 p.m., and can be heard on KLAY 1180 AM.
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