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March 21, 2007
Knights lose in first round action
The Community College of Rhode Island’s run at the NJCAA Division II championship came to an end last night as the Knights dropped a 74-61 loss to Lewis & Clark Community College in Danville, Ill.
The Trailblazers jumped out and got a 5-0 lead, and CCRI took their only lead of the game at 6-5 at 15:01 of the first half but from there the hosts took control and never looked back. Lewis & Clark went on a 13-3 run to take an 18-9 lead in the next five minutes.
“We got behind the eight ball early and they hurt us badly in the paint with all the offensive rebounds they got,” said head coach Rick Harris of CCRI.
The Knights settled down and the two teams traded baskets for the next six minutes but Lewis & Clark went on a 7-0 run with four minutes remaining in the half to open a 38-21 lead at the intermission.
“There were over 200 college coaches here recruiting today,” said Harris. “And the kids were a little bit in awe at the beginning of the game.”
In the second half the Knights made a run at Lewis and Clark and managed to get the point spread down to 10 on back-to-back steals resulting in fast break layups by Jake Grimes, pulling CCRI within 10 at 43-33 with13:48 remaining to play.
But from that point on the Trailblazers went on another run to take a 68-49 lead at the 4:21 mark, giving them their biggest lead of the game at 19 points. The Knights fought back and ended up outscoring the Trailblazers in the second half but it wasn’t enough against the tournament hosts.
Eric Gilchrese led all scorers for the Trailblazers with 24 points, scoring 12 points each in half, while teammate Pierre Howard chipped in 21 points with most of his points coming in the second half. Connor Evans led the way for the Knights with 16 points and Grimes was the only other player for CCRI to reach double figures with 15 points.
The Knights play again Saturday and with a win have a chance to avance in the loser’s bracket and a chance at a top eight spot in the division.
LEWIS & CLARK (74): Stennis 4 2-3 10, Steen 2 1-3 5, Gilchrese 8 7-11 24, Howard 9 0-0 21, Taylor 4 0-1 8, Hughes 3 0-0 6; totals 30 10-18 74. CCRI (61): Evans 6 3-4 16, Lyons 3 4-6 10, Birrell 1 3-4 5, Grimes 5 4-4 15, Dame 2 0-0 5, Portee 2 0-0 5, Coppola 1 1-2 3, Lee 1 0-0 2; totals 21 15-20 61.
Halftime — LC 38-21. 3-pt. goals — LC 4 (Howard 3); CCRI 4 (Evans, Grimes, Dame, Portee). Records — 16-17; LC 26-7.
Posted by Thom Cahir 
at 11:34 PM to College Sports
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