The Lower Columbia men's basketball team (13-1) was down 57-56 to Bellevue on Monday with 12 seconds left on the clock.
Kap Laila drove to the baseline from the left side of the Myklebust Gymnasium court, and shot a layup off at a tough angle. But the ball bounced off the rim.
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Just as all hope seemed lost, David Young had inched his way towards the hoop as Laila was driving. Young found himself in the perfect spot. He tipped the ball in from the right side and gave the Red Devils a dramatic come-from-behind win as the buzzer sounded.
Lower Columbia men's basketball David Young
Lower Columbia's David Young shoots a layup against Bellevue on Monday, Dec. 30 at Myklebust Gymnasium. Young hit the game-winning shot at the end of the game.
"In the huddle we had a play for one of our players, (Bellevue) kind of pressed, so it messed up our momentum, but we were still able to give it to him," Young said. "Reading the clock, (Laila) had to shoot it and there was nothing I could do if I got back (on defense), so crashing the rim was the only thing I could do and I got the bounce to my side and I was able to finish it."
Flash back to halftime and things looked rather grim for LCC. The Red Devils were down 40-20 after the first 20 minutes, which was the largest deficit they have faced in a game all season.
They came out as a different team in the second half, starting the final 20 minutes on an 8-0 run. They shut Bellevue down, limiting the Bulldogs to only 17 points, and scored 38 points of their own.
"We challenged our group, challenged our sophomores and our team to find a way to get back in the game and to handle some adversity that has come our way, so hopefully we can learn from that," LCC coach Mickey Polis said. "Hopefully we're not in a situation like that again, but if we are, we know we can always battle back."
Sophomores lead
Situations like that don't come around often for the Red Devils, especially with five-straight NWAC West championships to their name. Only five of their 13 wins this year have come by single digits. They have just one loss against Delta College.
Lower Columbia men's basketball James Grose
Lower Columbia's James Grose shoots in a game against Bellevue on Monday, Dec. 30 at Myklebust Gymnasium.
A big reason for the great start has been the play of the sophomores, who Polis has relied on all season. He said that all of the good teams in the NWAC are led by sophomores, some of whom can be third-year players due to redshirting, when players sit out for the year while retaining their eligibility.
Lower Columbia at Shoreline
When: 6 p.m., Friday
Where: Shoreline
Overall record: 13-1
"You look at all the good teams in the NWAC, they're all led by sophomores, they're all led by third-year guys, they just are," Polis said. "You'll have some freshmen that will help out in certain spots, but you gotta be sophomore-laiden."
Young leads the group in scoring with 12 points per game (ppg) and in steals per game (2.3). Fellow sophomores Malik Brown (11.3 ppg), Keshawn Lewis (10.4 ppg) and freshman Laila (10.9 ppg) all score in double figures for LCC as well. Sophomore Amir Locus leads the squad with 7.1 rebounds per game to go with his 7.9 points.
The team lacks a go-to scorer like they had last year in Kobe Parlin (17.1 ppg) -- who is now at Central Washington University -- but Polis knows he can rely on one his sophomores on any given night.
"At the end of the day, that's kind of what it has to be," Polis said. "We don't really have one guy or a guy who's gonna be our scorer ... I thought tonight Kap Laila did a great job of getting downhill and making some big buckets for us down the stretch and other games it's been David, other games it's been Malik and Keshawn, so it kinda just rotates."
Lower Columbia men's basketball David Young
Lower Columbia's David Young shoots a free throw against Bellevue on Monday, Dec. 30 at Myklebust Gymnasium.
Young said that kind of balance makes LCC a dangerous team. The sophomore from Sacramento has seen his confidence increase now that he is a team captain in his second year with the program.
"It's important the way I carry myself because a lot more people are looking up to me," he said. "I'm a sophomore, I've been here. Last year sometimes I struggled with confidence."
The Red Devils have one more nonconference game at Shoreline on Friday before they begin NWAC West play on Wednesday at home against Centralia College.
"The real season starts here next Wednesday when we play league play," Polis said. "Those 14 games determine if you get to go play in the NWAC Tournament and our West region is really really tough this year. It's really really good. We got some high-level teams. It's gonna be a gauntlet this year and we gotta find a way to be one of the top four."
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