Men's Hoops Falls in Rivalry Game

Everett, WA - In the home stretch of the conference schedule, and with nearly every school in the north region still in the hunt for a playoff spot, the Trojans traveled to Lynnwood on a Wednesday night to take on rivals Edmonds College.  In the previous meeting, Everett emerged victorious by a final score of 96-85, a game in which four Trojans scored in double figures.  Wednesday night would prove to be another hard fought battle against the foes separated by 11 miles of Interstate 5.

In search of a bounce back win after an overtime loss to Bellevue over the weekend Everett played well to open the game, jumping out to a 13-4 lead on three made 3-point field goals.  But a 16-4 run juiced the home team back into the lead at 21 -17.  EvCC tied the game back up eventually at 24 on a Trey Miles three with just under eight minutes remaining. Two and a half minutes later, the game would remain tied at 30 after a series of buckets by both teams, but Edmonds used another solid run to pull away before halftime and the Tritons would have the lead at the break 47-37.  Defensively, it was the worst performance of the year giving up 47 first half points.  Prior to that, Everett had averaged giving up just 36 points in the first half.  Offensively, while it was a balanced scoring attack in the first half with eight different Trojans getting into the scorebook, Leon Sayers was the only one with double digits at 10 points.   

In the second half, Edmonds continued to put pressure on the Trojan defense, ultimately getting to the free throw line 27 times compared to Everett's 8.  Raefe McEnroe had a career day putting up 20 points in the second half, but ultimately EvCC could not sustain enough momentum to pull off the road win, and Edmonds defeated Everett 86-78. Raefe McEnroe finished with 23 points and 5 rebounds, and Brycen Dillworth dished out 6 assists and added 11 points.  Brendon Redford, injured from the previous game against Bellevue, did not play and his inside presence was certainly missed. 

The win for Edmonds was just the 3rd in the past 14 meetings over six seasons between the rival schools, but a big win it was and one that will keep their playoff hopes alive for now.  Meanwhile Everett falls to 5-5, with four games left on the schedule and currently tied for 5th place with Bellevue.  Still, Everett is only one game out of not only a playoff birth but, a possible tie for third place, and just two games back from second. 

It will be a tall order in these final four games, with away dates against first place Olympic on Saturday and 2nd place Skagit Valley on March 5th.  Everett's final home games will be against Peninsula (currently tied for 3rd) on March 2nd and the final regular season game on March 9th against Whatcom.