CBC men, women finish 3rd in NWAC championship basketball tournaments

The Columbia Basin College men’s and basketball teams each placed third this weekend in the Northwest Athletic Conference Basketball Championships in Pasco.

The CBC women fell to Green River Community College 68-52 in the semifinals on Saturday afternoon at the CBC Student Recreation.

On Saturday night, the CBC men ran out of time trying to chase down Bellevue College, falling 75-70 in the NWAC semifinals.

Sunday’s champions turned out to be the Lane Community College women, and the Bellevue men.

Here’s a look at the weekend’s event:

Saturday women’s semifinals

GREEN RIVER 68, COLUMBIA BASIN 52: CBC had a rough day of shooting from the 3-point line, going 4 for 21 for 19 percent.

But the bigger problem was hanging onto the ball.

“We struggled to take care of the ball,” said CBC coach Amy Sokaitis. “We had 27 turnovers, and they had 18. But in points off of turnovers, they outscored us 23-5. That’s the game right there. I give them all the credit.”

Green River coach Karim McDonald said his team was worried about the Hawks’ 1-2 punch of guards Trinidie Nichols and Lexie Heath.

“We were worried about Trinidie and Lexie, and how aggressive their defense is,” said McDonald. “We figured Trinidie and Lexie would get their points, but we tried to deny them the ball. We played good defense. My hat’s off to them. CBC is a good team.”

It didn’t help that Nichols, and then Heath, got into early foul trouble. Sokaitis was forced to put one of them on the bench for much of the game — keeping them separated.

The key point came in the third quarter.

The Gators, leading 33-28 at intermission, jumped out on a 6-0 run in the third quarter.

Bayleigh Harder scored 6 points, and Saydee Anderson added 5 more, in a 12-5 run to give Green River a 45-33 lead.

CBC could never get closer than 7 points again.

“We came out after halftime and won the first 3 minutes,” said McDonald.

It hurt, said Sokaitis.

“Starting slow in the second half has been our Achilles’ Heel,” she said.

Harder finished with 15 points, while Anderson had 14, and Sadi Clemons came off of the bench for a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Nichols finished with 16 points and 12 rebounds for the Hawks.

Kenzi Pedersen added a double-double too, getting 12 points and 11 rebounds.

Sokaitis saw her squad finish the season with a 22-6 record.

“I told them I was proud of them,” said Sokaitis about what she told her players after the game. “I love them. It was a heckuva game. I just wish we could’ve got one more day.”

LANE 92, PENINSULA 90 (OT): Toni Coleman’s layup with 2 seconds remaining in overtime game the Titans the semifinal victory.

Coleman finished with 26 points to lead Lane, while Chloe Daniels added 20 points and 15 rebounds.

Chasity Selene came off of the bench to lead Peninsula with 25 points.

Saturday’s men’s semifinals

BELLEVUE 75, CBC 70: A 10-3 run midway through the first half gave the Bulldogs control of the game at 31-21.

Bellevue would take a 40-27 lead into halftime, and while the Hawks kept pushing to catch the Bulldogs, it just didn’t happen.

Bellevue hit enough free throws to fend off CBC.

Malakai Munoz sank four 3-point field goals down the stretch to keep the Hawks in the game.

“We fought all year, and we stayed together,” said CBC coach Anthony Owens. “You win some, and you lose some.”

Early in the season, CBC beat Bellevue in a non-region contest.

Bellevue coach Donald Brady said he and his staff took the lessons from that loss and learned.

“CBC can control how you play. And even if you’re ready, you’re not ready,” said Brady.

Prophet Johnson, who scored 21 points to lead the Bulldogs, said Bellevue was a much better team now than it was back in November.

“We built a chemistry early in the season. We’ve really felt like the underdogs,” said Johnson. “CBC kept trying to speed the game up on us.”

Owens said Bellevue did a good job of disrupting CBC’s game too.

“They slowed us down, and we had a lot of open shots,” Owens said. “But we were hunting the 3, instead of just letting it come naturally. We try to play downhill.”

Still, CBC wasn’t done in the second half. Down 51-36 at one point, the Hawks went on a 12-0 run and got to with a single possession.

Brady called a timeout.

“I told the team to calm down. Meanwhile I’m going crazy,” said Brady. “We still had a lead. We really needed to start rebounding.”

And that’s what happened. Well, that, and sinking enough free throws to keep the lead.

Owen Moriarty added 13 points for the Bulldogs.

Jayden Martinez led CBC with 24 points and 5 rebounds, while Munoz added 14 points on 4-for-5 shooting from the 3-point line.

EVERETT 92, CLACKAMAS 80: Tyriq Luke led the Trojans with 24 points and 7 rebounds, and Jadin Penigar added 18 points and 7 boards, as Everett advanced to the finals.

Ryan Lewis paced the Cougars with 22 points and 5 rebounds.

Sunday women’s final

LANE 72, GREEN RIVER 52: Lane finished an impressive season with a 32-1 record by beating the Gators.

Sierra Scheppele paced the Titans with 18 points and 5 rebounds.

Bella Hamel — who was named tournament MVP and is heading to the University of Oregon to play for the Ducks in the fall — added 17 points and 8 rebounds.

Chloe Daniels had a double-double of 11 points and 15 rebounds. The Titans outrebounded the Gators 52-36.

Green River’s Sadi Clemons led the team with 12 points.

Sunday men’s final

BELLEVUE 85, EVERETT 71: Prophet Johnson, Bishop Tosi and Owen Moriarty each scored 19 points to lead Bellevue to the title.

Johnson added 11 rebounds and was named tournament MVP, while teammate Sayerr Senghore had 14 points and 10 rebounds.

It marked the first time in three attempts that the Bulldogs had beaten their North Region rivals this season.

It was also the second time in as many years that Bellevue played in the NWAC finals.

Tyriq Luke led Everett with 19 points, while Leon Sayers added 18 points and 11 rebounds.

Jeff Morrow is former sports editor for the Tri-City Herald.