Columbia Basin came from behind in the final 2 minutes to upset North #1 Peninsula in the opening round of the Men's Championship tournament.
Ta'Veus Randle and
Teagen Hoard combined for 27 points off the bench for the Hawks.
Latrell Barker posted a double-double while controlling the glass for the Hawks who out-rebounded the Pirates 35 to 23.
Coming in as the 4-seed from the East, CBC's 20-6 record indicated that the Pirates were in for a battle and they got just that. Emotions were high early as both teams stake their claim as defensive specialists. Peninsula struck early with a few 3's but it was Basin who controlled the game for most of the first period leading by as many as 7. The Hawks were able to cut through the Peninsula defense and get to the rim for easy looks while Barker was able to have his was inside.
With 1 minute to go in the period, Peninsula created a couple turnovers that were then cashed in for a couple 3's including one as time expired to give them a halftime lead of 41-39. Both teams began to jaw at each other as they headed towards the locker room reminding the other that they were here and weren't going anywhere.
Outside of halftime, the Pirates built up a quick 10 point lead but Randle and Hoard went to work slashing into the paint and scoring at will. There were 16 lead changes in the game with neither team leading by more than 9. With 2 minutes to go and the Hawks in need of a bucket, Hoard caught a kick-out pass from the paint and buried a 3 right in the defender's face to tie the game up at 71. The play of the game came off a Peninsula miss as Barker corralled the loose ball before flipping it over to Randle who went coast to coast for an up-and-under layin with 25 seconds left to put the Hawks up 2.
Peninsula sharp-shooter Mikey Medlock was unable to knock down the go-ahead 3 as Basin grabbed the final rebound that lead to the 77-73 win for CBC. Outside of a timeout with 3 seconds to go, Hoard sent a deep down court pass to
Amar Rivers who snuck behind the defense to jam it home for the dagger in the coffin.
The win moves CBC on to the Elite 8 where they will meet Southwestern Oregon who upset West #2 Green River in the opening game of the day. Tipoff is schedule for 2pm on Sunday March 12th.
