Brett Blackstock posted a double-double of 26 points and 10 rebounds as Multnomah rallied for an 80-78 win at West Coast Baptist in the West Coast Classic Saturday afternoon.
MULTNOMAH 80, WEST COAST BAPTIST 78: Pair of Double-Doubles Lifts Lions by Eagles
LANCASTER, Calif. – Forwards Ben Grandle and Brett Blackstock each posted double-doubles in points and rebounds as the Multnomah University Lions rallied from nine points down for an 80-78 win over the host West Coast Baptist College Eagles on the final day of the West Coast Classic here Saturday afternoon.
Multnomah hit seven three-pointers in the first half and raced out to a 41-28 halftime lead, then scored the first basket of the second half to build its largest lead of 15 points at 43-28. Over the next 11 minutes, however, the Eagles out-scored the Lions by 24 points and went up by nine with 8:06 to play. The Lions recovered in time to pull out the victory in the last minute and finish 1-1 in the tournament.
--- By the Numbers: Grandle scored 23 points and hauled in a whopping 22 rebounds to record his second consecutive double-double and fifth of the season. Blackstock tossed in 26 points and grabbed 10 boards for his second double-double of the year. Their efforts led Multnomah to a 59-46 advantage on the glass. Blackstock also handed out five assists. The Lions ended with a .366 shooting percentage (30-82) and hit . 378 (14-37) on threes.
Daniel Foster scored a game-high 34 points for the Eagles, hitting 13-of-33 from the field and 6-of-20 from three-point range. Seth Hanna added 18 points and Ian Russell 13, along with 10 rebounds. Stephen Wheeler also had 10 boards without scoring a point. Nic Corl handed out five assists. The Eagles shot .380 (30-79) and .308 (12-39) on threes.
Multnomah is now 4-8 on the season.
--- Quoting MU coach Curt Bickley: "Ben and Brett were tremendous. A great comeback win for us heading into the holidays."
--- Next: Multnomah is off until Friday, Dec. 29, when the Lions return to Cascade Collegiate Conference play at the Oregon Institute of Technology in Klamath Falls ast 7:30 p.m. … West Coast Baptist goes to Fresno Pacific University Monday for a 7:00 p.m. exhibition game.