Men's Basketball Falls to Clackamas in Sweet 16

By: Iain Dexter- NWAC
PASCO, Wash. – The Clackamas Cougars came back from down 13 in the second half to defeat South Puget Sound 70-66 in the Sweet 16 of the NWAC Men's Basketball Championship, presented by Sun Pacific Energy, on Friday at Columbia Basin College.

A pair of back-to-back threes by Ryan Lewis with 12 minutes to play kicked the Cougars' comeback into high gear. The Cougars eventually took the lead with just under six minutes to play and did not relinquish the lead back.

The #1-seeded Cougars (22-8, 13-3 South) turned things around with their shooting in the second half. After going 11-for-30 in the first half, Clackamas shot a blistering 18-for-28 (64.3%) in the final 20 minutes.

Lewis led the team with 19 points, making four of the team's seven threes. TJ Doman had 17 points and seven rebounds. Wade Autenreith finished with a double-double of 11 points and 11 boards. Isaiah Gilliam had 10 points, five rebounds and five assists.

The #4-seeded Clippers (14-15, 8-6 West) nearly pulled off the big upset with a hot shooting start to open the game, going 17-for-34 from the field in the first half. Lack of free throw attempts down the stretch hurt the Clippers as they got to the line just one time.

Jason Montes led the Clippers with 17 points, six rebounds, four assists and four steals. Alejandro Cybak had 14 points, six assists and five boards.