Trojans’ Defense Thwarts Red Devils 69-49 to Advance to Final Four

PASCO, Wash. – A night after making 15 three pointers, the Everett Trojans showed they can win with defense as well as they defeated Lower Columbia 69-49 in the Elite Eight of the NWAC Men's Basketball Championship, presented by Sun Pacific Energy, on Saturday at Columbia Basin College.

The #2-seed Trojans put together one of the most impressive defensive performances of the tournament thus far, limiting Lower Columbia to 23.2 percent shooting overall. Much of the Red Devils scoring came in the second half when the Trojans were already up big. Everett's first half defense completely shut down LCC, holding the Red Devils to 17 points on 5-for-33 shooting and 0-for-8 on three pointers.

Everett was especially impressive on the boards, racking up a 63-38 advantage in rebounds for the game while adding 10 blocks. Tucker Molina was the team leader in both categories with 15 rebounds and four blocks, adding five points.

While not matching their scoring output from the night prior, the Trojans were still not without offense. Tyriq Luke and Colton Spencer led the way with 18 points each. Luke had seven rebounds while Spencer grabbed six. Jadin Penigar added 13 points with six boards.

The Red Devils started to heat up late, but were unable to close the gap below 11 points in the second half. Emanuel Steward did his best to pull the team closer, scoring 17 points with five three pointers in the second half. Carter McCoy added nine points, 11 rebounds and four blocks off the bench.

The Trojans move onto the Final Four for the first time since 1995. They will battle #1 seed Clackamas next Saturday at 5 p.m.

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