(Longview, WA) – The Lower Columbia men's basketball team returned to the court after an 18-day holiday break and so they were unsure of what to expect when they hosted the high-octane Shoreline Dolphins on Wednesday January 4
th.
But for these Devils, the expectation is defense.
Lower Columbia held the Dolphins to 19 points under their scoring average and won 76-69.
Emanuel Steward led all scorers with 24 points and he helped his teammates with a game-high five assists.
Steward was concerned about being off since December 17. "For me it was tough. I can't speak for the other guys because it looked pretty easy for them. I just had to come out and show maximum effort to get the dub."
The Devils got off to a great start leading 11-2 after the first five minutes. But the explosive Dolphins made a run of their own and got back within four at halftime, 34-30. Shoreline then took charge in the first five minutes of the second half, taking a nine point lead with just over 16 minutes left.
Instead of getting down, the Devils got busy. Steward hit two three-pointers to close the gap to two and then
Cole Hardy and
Kaden Horn hit clutch three's to flip the switch the Devils way.
Defense was the key. Lower Columbia made high-scoring guards Jalyn Stepney (22.0 PPG) and A.J. Boyd (20 PPG) work hard for their shots. Stepney ended up with 19 and Boyd 17.
Sherman Royal III looked very good for LCC. The sophomore had 16 points, seven rebounds and two assists.
Hardy led LCC with eight rebounds while he was playing top defense. Hardy also five points in the game. Horn,
Cameron Holden and
Jonah Zeller had seven points each for LCC.
Carter McCoy and
Ashton Harvey split eight rebounds and helped fuel a 34-27 rebounding advantage for LCC.
The Devils raise their season record to 10-3. Shoreline had a five game win streak snapped including a home victory over LCC during that run. The Dolphins are now 9-4.
Lower Columbia has one more non-division game before West Region play begins on Wednesday January 11
th (home versus Tacoma). The Devils take on another tough North Region team Saturday January 7
th when the Bellevue Bulldogs come to Myklebust Gym. It's a rare early afternoon game as the tip-off is scheduled for 12 noon.
