Shoreline, WA - With the game tied and the clock winding down under 3 seconds to go in regulation, sophomore Henry Ihrig secured the rebound and heaved the ball 70 feet to the other end where it banked off the glass and went straight in, lifting EvCC 75-72 over Shoreline Community College.
The Saturday night contest featured two teams that were in high need of a north region win, the Dolphins at 1-2 and the Trojans at 0-3. Everett began the game with three straight three's from Nate Harding to take a 9-0 lead and eventually built their lead out to as many as 13 with 9:40 remaining in the half. But the home Dolphins got back into it with an 11-2 run and it would be a 33-32 Trojan lead heading into the break. Despite the hot shooting to start the game EvCC cooled off a touch to allow Shoreline to get back into the game. Nate Harding made all four of his three point shot attempts to lead EvCC in first half scoring (12).
Shoreline pulled momentum away in the second half and used a 13-2 run over four minutes to build a 62-51 lead with 8:20 remaining. The final five minutes of the game featured a heavy dose of sophomore point guard Jailin Johnson who scored 8 of his 18 points in that stretch and Henry Ihrig. After a Johnson drive and score got EvCC back to within one, Ihrig hit one of two free throws to tie the game at 72 with 26 seconds remaining. Out of a timeout, Shoreline drew up a play to get their leading scorer Sherrell McCollum the ball. Ihrig drew the defensive assignment, forcing McCollum to a tough jump shot. The ball came off the rim, was tipped by a Shoreline player but ultimately hauled in by Ihrig who promptly launched the ball with 0.6 seconds on the clock. After a review the referee's determined that the shot was off in time giving EvCC their first north region win.
Ihrig finished the game with 13 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists. The Trojans were lead in scoring by Jailin Johnson who dropped 18, and also dished out 6 assists with 5 rebounds. Other double digit scorers were Nate Harding (14) and Shon Reid (15). Despite Shoreline getting to the line 20 more times than the Trojans, EvCC held off the Dolphins by out-rebounding them and shooting 52% from the field compared to SCC's 36%.
Everett will return home for a Wednesday night tilt against Olympic College, the only team in the north region without a conference win. But the Rangers won't be an easy win, with a handful of narrow losses this season and averaging 79 points per game, second most in the north. Game time is set for 7:00pm at the Walt Price Center.