Walla Walla Community College’s Roman McKnight scored 24 points to lead the Warrior men, who held off Yakima Valley’s second-half comeback effort and captured their fourth straight win, 83-79, in a Northwest Athletic Conference East Region basketball matchup at the Dietrich Dome on Wednesday.
The Warriors (11-13 overall) improved their regional record to 5-4, matching Yakima and Columbia Basin for third place.
Columbia Basin defeated sixth-place Wenatchee Valley, Wednesday in Pasco.
“We’re proud of our guys for battling back,” WWCC head coach Jeff Reinland said. “We were in a hole for a while. Now we’ve won four in a row and we’ll see how it plays out with only five games left. Every game is pretty big.”
WWCC’s Payton Radliff scored another 17 points, while teammate Dalton Thompson added 16, Mitch Mueller 11, and the Warriors held off Yakima’s rally after halftime.
The Warriors mounted a 48-38 lead at half and increased their advantage to 15 before Yakima rallied.
However, WWCC managed to stay ahead to the end.
“(Yakima) started making some tough shots, but fortunately we were able to hold them off,” Reinland said.
The Warriors next play Saturday at Wenatchee Valley.
Photo by Michael Lopez of the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin
