Everett, WA – The Trojans were back at it on consecutive nights at the Walt Price Center. After a decisive 82-66 win over Spokane the night before, EvCC took on the Titans of Tacoma CC in Saturday night NWAC basketball action.
The first four minutes of the contest were highly contested with solid defense by both teams but after back to back three's by Tacoma, the Titans got out to an eight-point lead. That lead would grow to as much as 13 with six minutes to play before the cold shooting of the Trojans finally started to heat up. A 13-2 run would pull Everett back to within two inside of two minutes remaining. A pair of free throws and a jumper got the Titans to 40, but a Tony MacArthur three pulled the Trojans back to within three by the halftime buzzer. Everett got to the line 17 times in the first half, but unfortunately only converted on 9, for a percentage of (52.9%). Brycen Dillworth led Everett at the break with 12 points.
Tacoma got the first bucket of the 2nd half, and was able to build out to a six-point lead with 11:30 remaining. From there, Everett responded with a 10-0 run and took their first lead since the score was 6-4. On a pair of made free throws, Tacoma pulled back to within 1 with five minutes remaining, but that is the closest they would get, not scoring again until the 1:17 mark. By that time, they trailed by nine and the Trojans had a firm hold on the game. By the final buzzer, Everett completed their fifth win in a row, winning 75-64. Brycen Dillworth tied a career high and had his best game of the season yet, scoring 22, pulling down 7 rebounds, and dishing out 7 assists. Brendon Redford had yet another double-double, scoring 17 and hauling in 11 rebounds. Despite the less than stellar shooting from the free throw line tonight, EvCC still was able to convert on 19 free throws, and held Tacoma to just 35% shooting from the floor.
The Trojans will gear up for another three-game home stand, hosting the north region crossover tournament. They will open up the tournament on Thursday, December 11 against Pierce College, followed by Umpqua on Friday, and then capped off by North Idaho. Umpqua is one of only two undefeated teams left in the NWAC.