Edmonds Bounces Back In Second Half to Best Lane 71-66 in Sweet 16

PASCO, Wash. – The Edmonds Tritons overcame a slow start to defeat the Lane Titans 71-66 in the Sweet 16 of the NWAC Men's Basketball Championship presented by Golf Universe on Wednesday at Columbia Basin College.

After Edmonds (22-8) jumped out to a 13-7 lead early, Lane with on an 11-0 run to take an 18-13 advantage. The South Region No.-4 seeded Titans (13-16) didn't give up their lead the rest of the first half and led for much of the second half, leading by as many as eight points 42-34 with 15:01 to play.

With eight minutes to play, the North Region champion and No. 1-seeded Tritons were finally able to reclaim 51-50 as the teams went back and forth over the next three minutes. Edmonds started to create some separation down the stretch, closing out the game in the final minutes.

North Region MVP Chris Lee reinforced his award as he dropped a game-high 22 points with six rebounds. Lee found his shot in the second half with 15 points, shooting 6-for-10. Josiah Pierre added 14 points and seven boards on an efficient 6-for-9 from the floor.

The Titans kept their lead with their hot three point shooting as they knocked down 11 three pointers for the game. Jevon Blackmore led Lane with 17 points, seven rebounds, four assists and three steals. Micah Garret had a double-double of 16 points and 11 rebounds as he made a team-high three three-pointers.

The Tritons move onto the Elite 8 round and will play Green River on Thursday at 4 p.m.

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