EvCC Men’s Basketball tallied up their first win in the 2018 NWAC Championship tournament on Saturday, defeating Chemeketa 97-93.

Chemeketa got off to a fast start in the first half, putting up 12 in the first five minutes opposed to Everett’s five. “In the first half there was a lot of nerves, you know, that’s just the way it is,” said Head Coach Mike Trautman.

Everett was quick to warm up and shake off those nerves though, diving into a back and forth, hard fought battle throughout the first half. Getting to the rim was still difficult going up against Chemeketa’s fierce defense.

At the half, the score was 42-40 in favor of Chemeketa.

The Trojans struck fast coming into the second half. They quickly pulled into a comfortable lead that Chemeketa seemed to always have an answer for. The Trojans would go on a roll and score ten just to have Chemeketa catch up shortly after.

The second half further confirmed the fact that the nerves had disappeared for Everett. “We were able to kick it back up, ramp it up and make a comeback in the second half like we did all season” said sophomore guard Connor Moffat.

Moffat and freshman guard Markieth Brown Jr. were Everett’s top scorers tallying up 31 and 23 points respectively. Sophomore guard Gio Jackson led the team in assists with nine and also scored 21 points.

The final score was 97-93 Everett. Their next game is on Sunday March 11th at 8:00 p.m. vs North Idaho at Everett Community College.