Sasquatch Men Claim East Region Title
After completing a season sweep, the question is why was Community Colleges of Spokane in the position of having to beat Yakima Valley Community College to secure the East Division’s top seed to the NWAACC men’s basketball tournament?
But “beat” is being kind because the Sasquatch destroyed the Yaks 83-51 Wednesday night at Spokane Community College. “It was the biggest game of the year. We all had to play our best,” CCS guard Zach Humphrey said after coming off the bench to score a game high 19 on 7-of-9 shooting. “We wanted to make a statement and just have fun.”
Spokane (19-6, 11-3) is the No. 1 seed out of the East to the tournament in Kennewick next week, while the Yaks (22-6, 11-3), which upset the 30-1 Sasquatch for the championship last year, are No. 2. “It’s about these guys,” first year CCS coach Clint Hull said. “It’s very rewarding to see how far these guys have come.”
CCS used a 23-0 run in the first half to settle the issue early, which was reminiscent of the first meeting in Yakima, when a 22-1 burst in the second half produced a 72-65 win for CCS. The lead kept growing – to a high of 37 – as CCS rained 3-pointers on Yakima. Behind Humphrey, who hit five 3s and 7 of 9 shots overall for a game high 19 points, the Sasquatch hit 8 of 14 from behind the arc in the second half.
“It’s different, its an adjustment,” Humphrey said of coming off the bench. “It doesn’t matter, you’re still playing. You do whatever is best for the team.” The Sasquatch dug a hole early, falling behind 14-2 when YVCC reeled off 11 straight points less than 5 minutes into the game. But then Humphrey arrived and quickly drained a 3-pointer to loosen things up, which allowed Damal Neil and Griffon Jones enough room to dominate inside.
Midway through the first half, with CCS down 20-11, Chris Pynch hit a pull-up jumper left of the free-throw line that started a 23-0 run. Derek Gianukakis scored on an inbounds play to tie the game at 20 and Humphrey followed with his third 3 of the half. The Yaks missed 15 shots and had six turnovers in the stretch and ended up shooting 33 percent after starting 6 of 8.
By the half, CCS, which shot 47 percent after making just three of its first 12, was up 38-22. Humphrey had nine points, Neil and Jones combined for 14. “The last time we played them Griffon had 22 points in the second half,” Humphrey said. “We knew we could get that any time we wanted. We wanted to establish the inside game first. The shots are easier to make when you play inside-out.”
When Brad Johnson and Luke Clift opened the second half with 3-pointers, the Sasquatch had the Yaks doubled up 44-22, erasing any doubt there would be a letdown. Spokane had five players hit 3s and a 50-25 advantage in bench points. Eleven players scored for CCS, which shot 47 percent fro the game while limiting YVCC to 32 percent. The Yaks were lead by Jody Johnson with 11 pointes but he made just 4 of 17 shots.
The Sasquatch also had a 54-33 rebounding advantage with Johnson getting seven. Spokane will play the fourth seed out of the West Division on March 5.