(Auburn, WA) – The Lower Columbia men's basketball team saw its hopes of winning the West Region championship slipping away. Down seven points to a fired up Green River team, LCC head coach
Mickey Polis called time out. Whatever he said, it worked.
The Red Devils dominated from there and turned that seven point deficit into an 80-71 victory in front of a raucous crowd at the Swamp.
Emanuel Steward fueled the comeback with three huge three-point shots down the stretch. Steward put a stamp on his bid for West Region MVP with 28 points including 6 of 8 shooting from beyond the arc.
Ashton Harvey had a slam dunk that gave LCC a one point lead with 4:40 left. Steward then scored nine points the rest of the way in a signature game for the sophomore from Grant High School in Portland.
Sherman Royal III was also instrumental in the Devils win. The sophomore from Lake Worth Florida had 17 points and 11 rebounds. Royal can also make a case for league MVP.
With the game slipping away from Green River,
Kaden Horn hit 4 of 5 free throws. Horn had 12 points and four assists.
The game started rough. Devil starting center
Jonah Zeller was saddled with two fouls in the first minute of the game as the Gators jumped out 6-0. Harvey came in and supplied great energy. The sophomore from Mark Morris High School had nine points and four rebounds. He was 5 for 6 from the free throw line. The Devils as a team shot 83% from the charity stripe.
Cole Hardy had eight points, four boards, three assists, one block and one steal.
Green River had five of its starters score in double figures led by the 16 of Jaiden Feroah. The Gators only losses in West Region play was to Lower Columbia.
The Devils win the West again. They took the crown last season, tied for the top spot during the shortened Covid season of 20-21 and won it back in 2019-20. The Devils under Polis have won the West championship four times in six seasons.
Lower Columbia begins its NWAC-best 42
nd conference championship berth on Friday March 10 when they take on 4
th seed from the South Region. The South berths will be decided on Saturday March 4
th. The action is at the new Columbia Basin Gymnasium in Pasco. The Devils will play at 8 pm.
