EVERETT, WA. – Umpqua’s Grant Ellison scored a game-high 20 points to lead five players in double figures and the UCC men’s basketball team defeated Bellevue 75-58 on Thursday to advance to the quarterfinals of the Northwest Athletic Conference Tournament.
Ellison shot 7-of-13 from the floor and was perfect on six attempts from the free throw line. The freshman averages 20.2 points per game, but this was his first 20 point game since suffering a high-ankle sprain against Linn-Benton on February 8.
The Umpqua men had a strong all-around performance, shooting 43% from the field and out-rebounding Bellevue 50-39. The Riverhawks pulled ahead by 15 points in the first half, but had to hold off the Bulldogs, who cut the deficit down to nine midway through the second half.
UCC sophomore Jacob Danhoff had a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds. Derrin Gethers added 14 for the Riverhawks and Timmy Thompson and Ethan Betts had 11 and 10 respectively.
Jordan Muir-Keung scored 14 points to lead Bellevue in the loss. The Bulldogs had previously beaten Umpqua 75-69 in a nonleague game on Dec. 4.
The victory was Umpqua’s first in the conference tournament since the 2008 season when the Riverhawks beat SW Oregon 84-81 to claim a third place finish.
Up next, the UCC men will face the winner of South Puget Sound and Big Bend in the quarterfinals. The contest will be played Friday at 4 p.m. and can be heard on 1490 The Score.
