NWAC Men’s Basketball: Lower Columbia fends off SWOC for first title in 20 years

Red Hot – Red Devils reel off 14 straight victories on the way to NWAC Championship

The LCC men’s basketball team poses for a photo after defeating SWOC 67-63 on Sunday, March 16, in Pasco to win the NWAC Championship. / Courtesy of LCC Athletics

Jordan Nailon / blastzonenews@gmail.com

The NWAC Championship game on Sunday played out much like the Red Devils season this year. You know, the campaign where Lower Columbia won its first 11 games, lost four of their next eight, and then reeled off 14 wins in a row until the gold ball trophy was firmly in its possession.

Playing the No. 4 seeded Lakers of Southwest Oregon College in Pasco, the No. 1 seeded Red Devils ran out to a 12-0 lead to open the contest and held an advantage as large as 23 points with less than four minutes to go in the contest. But LCC was forced to endure a ferocious run by the Lakers in the second half in order to come away with the 67-63 victory, and the Red Devils’ first NWAC Championship since 2005.

“The game was kind of like our season,” LCC head coach Mickey Polis said in a postgame interview. “We had moments where we’d play outstanding and then there were some moments where there were some struggles. But we always found a way to persevere.”

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