PASCO, WA — The Lower Columbia Red Devils concluded a spectacular basketball season on March 15, 2026, falling to the Skagit Valley Cardinals 77-72 in the NWAC Championship Game. Played at Columbia Basin College, the hard-fought contest ended LCC's season with an impressive 23-7 overall record (10-4), while the victorious Cardinals claimed the title to finish 30-3 (12-2).

The Red Devils trailed slightly at the break, heading into halftime down 41-36. However, the second half opened with Lower Columbia showing immense grit. The Red Devils quickly erased the five-point halftime deficit, tying the game at 41-41 just under two minutes into the half on a pair of free throws from Noah Schow. The teams traded blows in a highly competitive stretch, tying the game again at 43-43 and 45-45 before Skagit Valley began to slowly pull away.

With 3:10 remaining in the game, the Cardinals built their largest lead of the half, going up by eight points (69-61) following a layup in the paint by Terrence Whiting. This set the stage for a frantic, down-to-the-wire comeback attempt by the Red Devils.

At the 2:12 mark, Shane Douma-Sanchez sparked the late rally by drawing a crucial foul on Skagit Valley's Treyshawn Weatherspoon and sinking all three free throws to cut the deficit to five. Just moments later, Douma-Sanchez found James Grose, who buried a massive three-pointer with 1:40 left to make it a one-possession game, bringing the Red Devils within just two points at 69-67.

Forced into a foul game down the stretch, the Red Devils couldn't quite get over the hump. LCC's Kenyan Jackman-Thomas committed a foul at the 1:02 mark, sending Skagit Valley's Bennett Howe to the line where he calmly hit both free throws to push the lead back to 71-67. With 41 seconds left, Grose fouled Weatherspoon, who also converted both of his attempts to make it a 73-67 game. Skagit Valley ultimately sealed the victory with a pair of late inside layups from Jerry Petty Jr.. Lower Columbia continued to fight to the final horn, with Douma-Sanchez hitting a three-pointer at the 11-second mark and Skyler Schmidt throwing down a dunk right at the buzzer to finalize the score at 77-72.

Every player in the Lower Columbia starting five scored in double digits during the championship effort. Schmidt led the Red Devils in scoring with 19 points, shooting 7-for-15 from the field and a perfect 4-for-4 from the free-throw line, while anchoring the defense with 3 blocks and pulling down 9 rebounds.
Douma-Sanchez orchestrated the offense, dishing out a game-high 8 assists while scoring 16 points, grabbing 8 rebounds, and shooting 3-for-6 from beyond the arc.
Jackman-Thomas was highly efficient, scoring 13 points on 3-of-5 shooting from the floor and 6-of-8 from the charity stripe, alongside tying for the team lead with 9 rebounds.
Schow added 13 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, and 1 block, while Grose contributed 11 points, 3 rebounds, and hit 3 of his 8 three-point attempts.

Despite the loss, the Red Devils shot better from the field overall, hitting 41.1% (23-56) compared to SVC's 39.5% (30-76). LCC was significantly more lethal from deep, hitting 42.1% of their three-pointers (8-19) compared to the Cardinals' 17.6% (3-17). Lower Columbia was also excellent at the line, shooting 85.7% (18-for-21), while Skagit Valley shot 77.8% (14-for-18).

However, Skagit Valley dominated the interior, outscoring LCC 46 to 22 in the paint, led by Malcolm Clark, who put up 23 points, 14 rebounds, and 4 blocks. The Cardinals also capitalized heavily on mistakes and offensive rebounds, scoring 18 points off turnovers to LCC's 2, and generating 20 second-chance points compared to LCC's 7. Finally, Lower Columbia relied entirely on their starters for scoring, registering 0 bench points, while Skagit Valley's reserves contributed 17 points to their victory.