Everett, WA – The Trojans were one of eight sites to host a Men's Basketball NWAC Crossover Tournament the weekend before Christmas. North Idaho College out of the east region, Umpqua Community College out of the south region, and Pierce College out of the west region all met in Everett for six games in three days.
The host Trojans took on Pierce College on the first night after North Idaho College handled Umpqua 85-71 in the game before. It was a slow start for EvCC falling behind early but keeping it close and taking their first lead of the game with 11 minutes to play in the first half, 15-14 on a Christian Zamora lay-in as the shot clock expired. The two teams played evenly through the remainder of the half. Everett got up by as much as nine, but the lead would be six going into the break. Brandon Congdon led all scorers with 12 and Brycen Dillworth added 11 on 5 of 7 shooting to lead the Trojans offensively.
Everett kept control in the second half building their six point lead up to fifteen with 7 minutes left to play. Pierce utilized the three to claw back in, shooting 45% from beyond the arc and got back to within six. Christian Zamora hit another clutch shot, this time a three, and from there Everett cruised to the win, 87-73. Brandon Congdon finished with a new career high, 19 points and added 6 assists and 6 rebounds. Four other Trojans scored in double figures, including a monstrous rebounding performance by Brendon Redford who pulled down 18 and scored 15. Brycen Dillworth also had 15 and dished out a season high 8 assists.
Friday morning presented turmoil for the Trojans as five players would be unavailable for the evening game due to COVID protocols. Although Umpqua was still nursing their 14-point loss to North Idaho from the night before, the Riverhawks had a big advantage with 3 regular starters out for Everett and only eight total available to suit up and play. All eight were called upon in the first half, and all eight put points on the board. Christian Zamora led the way with 9 points but it was the defense holding Umpqua to 37% from the floor that helped the Trojans go into the break with a two-point lead at 36-34.
The entire second half was highly contested, with neither team gaining more than a four-point advantage. Umpqua held onto a four-point lead with two minutes remaining when a controversial call led to a technical foul on the Trojan bench, that was followed by a second technical foul on head coach Mike Trautman in protest of the call and the initial technical. Those technicals led to four straight made free throws by Umpqua stretching the lead to eight. From there Everett could not recover, falling 80-66. Raefe McEnroe had a big game with 14 points and 15 rebounds. Also scoring in double figures was Brendon Redford (16) and Christian Zamora (15).
On the final day, Everett was scheduled to face North Idaho College, but an additional Everett COVID positive test that morning presented doubt on whether or not the game could be played. The Trojans still had nine vaccinated players available that tested negative, however out of caution for the unvaccinated players on the North Idaho team, NIC elected to not play the game and it would officially go down as a no contest.
It certainly was not the outcome of the weekend that the Trojans envisioned heading into this tournament, but all things considering, Everett will have 10 days off for the holiday break to rest and recover. EvCC is scheduled to be back in action on Tuesday, December 28th at the Clackamas Holiday Tournament, in Oregon City, OR.