Hawks Continue Dancing, Defeat Lakers 81-70 to Reach Final Four

PASCO, Wash. – The Columbia Basin Hawks continued their Cinderella run with an 81-70 victory over Southwestern Oregon in the Elite 8 of the NWAC Men's Basketball Championship, presented by Sun Pacific Energy, on Saturday at Columbia Basin College.

The #4-seed Hawks got a standout game from guard Ta'Veus Randle, who has caught fire in the tournament. Randle dropped a season-high 29 points on 10-of-18 shooting and 6-of-8 from beyond the arc.

CBC limited their own mistakes in the game while forcing turnovers by the Lakers, owning a 17-9 turnover advantage. They also had 15 offensive rebounds that led to a 14-5 lead in second chance points.

A team with a lot of depth, the Hawks had five players score in double digits. Outside of Randle, Jayden Martinez had 12 points. Teagen Hoarded added 11 and Lawson Vella and Javon Handcox each had 10. 67 of the Hawks' 81 points came from the bench.

The #3 seed Lakers were led by Logan Prince who had 22 points off the Bench. Cody Nixon, added 14 points and Onwaja Thomas finished a strong tournament with 11 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks.

The Hawks became the first lower seed to reach the Final Four, a feat that the athletic program has enjoyed much of this season. Both the men's and women's basketball teams will play in the Final Four next Saturday. From CBC, they join the Final Four women's soccer team, finalist volleyball team and championship men's soccer team as programs that have all been to the semifinals or better this year.

The Hawks move onto the NWAC Final Four, where they will play fellow #4 Bellevue next Saturday at 7 p.m. at Columbia Basin College.

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