The beginning of the 2018-19 season under second year Head Coach Donald Brady appeared to look like a bright start as the Bulldogs held a 37-34 lead before bowing to Clackamas (OR) 78-66 in the opening round of the Pierce Thanksgiving Tourney yesterday in Lakewood. The ‘dogs were outscored 44-29 in the second half as their shooting went cold. Bellevue made only 11 of 33 attempts, and threw up more than 50% three pointers, going 5-for-19 from long distance.
The Bulldogs fell behind early 10-5 but chipped away and took the lead at halftime on a three-pointer by sophomore Trenton Newhouse.
Bellevue stretched its lead to six points in the second half right out of the gate but allowed the Cougars to chip back early enough in the second half to take control of the game. In a span of one minute at the 15:00 mark, Clackamas hit two three-pointers while BC missed two to swing the game from a one point lead to a five point deficit. Bellevue managed to chip back to within one at 54-53 but could not overtake Clackamas as cold shooting again let the momentum drift away.
With a relatively all new squad this year, Ting-Jhao Jian, the lone starter back from last year, was one of the few who could hold a relatively hot hand for the game, leading BC with 22 points. He was 8-of-13 from the field and was relatively consistent in both halves. Freshman Kai Warren made an impressive debut with 14 points.
Clackamas ran its record to 3-0 while Bellevue starts the season off 0-1. Bellevue plays its second game of the tourney today at Pierce College against Blue Mountain (OR).
Last Updated November 24, 2018
