Sasquatch Finish Strong to Beat Yakima 72-65 in Battle for First Place
The Community colleges of Spokane men’s basketball team finished strong to defeat the Yaks of Yakima Valley College in a battle for sole possession of first place in NWAACC East Region play by a final score of 72-65. The win puts Spokane (11-3, 3-0) into first place all alone while Yakima (13-4, 2-1) falls into a second place tie.
Spokane started off strong and took an early lead, but Yakima responded to take control of the game for much of the first half. The Yaks led by as many at nine points during the opening period and took a four point lead into the break. The first five minutes of the second half went back and forth with neither team taking a commanding lead. As the half wore on, the Yaks pushed forward to maintain a slight lead over the Sasquatch.
The chance for victory seemed to be slipping away from Spokane when Yakima extended their lead to 14 points at 52-38 with 10:34 to play. From that point, however, the Sasquatch went on a 22-1 run fueled by reserves Griffon Jones and Brendan Ingebritsen to take the lead. Spokane eventually stretched the lead to as many as 11 points before Yakima hit back to back three-pointers to cut it back to a five point lead. Yakima was then forced to foul and Spokane converted their free throws for the final margin.
Spokane was led in scoring by Jones who finished with 24 points on 10-13 shooting and scored 22 over the final 10 minutes of play. Ingebritsen added 15 and Damal Neil and Kevin Cameron chipped in 10 points each as well. Derek Gianukakis led the Sasquatch in rebounding with nine, gathering many crucial boards down the stretch. As has been the case for Spokane lately, this win was a total team effort.
Spokane hosts Blue Mountain this Friday at 8:00 pm and Treasure Valley Saturday at 2:00, both games at Spokane Community College.