Photo courtesy of BC Athletics

One current, one former, and one incoming Bellevue College baseball player were each selected in the top ten rounds of this week’s Major League Baseball amateur draft. Right-handed pitcher Adrian Sampson was the first junior college pitcher in the country selected in the draft, going in the 5th round to the Pittsburgh Pirates. He is the fourth Bellevue pitcher who has been a part of the Pirates organization. Evan Meek, a 2003 Bellevue alum, is currently a major leaguer for the Pirates. The incoming and former Bulldogs were then ironically picked consecutively in the 7th round of the draft. Letter of intent signee Theo Alexander was taken in the seventh round by the Los Angeles Dodgers and former Bellevue standout Ian Parmley, who recently finished his senior campaign at Liberty University in Virginia, was taken with the pick just prior, going to the Toronto Blue Jays. Parmely was an All-American and graduated with honors in 2010 from Bellevue. On the third day of the draft, Bulldog sophomore catcher Alex Ross was selected in the 36th round by the Seattle Mariners.

Adam Sampson, photo courtesy of BC Athletics

The honors continue to come in for pitcher Adrian Sampson. After being the first junior college pitcher in the nation to be selected in the Major League draft this past week, Sampson was named to the All-American team for the Pacific Association Division as named by the American Baseball Coaches Association. All two-year college programs in the country are divided into four classifications based on scholarship allowances and/or location; NJCAA Division I, NJCAA Division II, NJCAA Division III, and Pacific Association Division. Tyler Baumgartner, an outfielder on scholarship headed to play for the sixth-ranked University of Oregon next year, was named to the second team All-American team.

Jon Humphrie scored 14 points in the road win over Edmonds. photo by Rich Dworkis

The sixth-ranked Bellevue College men’s basketball team took to the road last week with two trips in the NWAACC North region. On Wednesday, Feb. 15, Bellevue travelled to number one Whatcom Community College to take on the Orcas. Whatcom jumped out to an early eight-point lead, but the Bulldogs quickly responded and took a 38-37 lead into the locker room at half time. Bellevue’s stingy first half defense quickly disappeared in the second half as the Bulldogs allowed 60% shooting in the last stanza. This coupled with Whatcom’s nine-point advantage from the three -point line led to Bellevue’s demise. Whatcom earned an 85-74 victory ending Bellevue’s outside chance at back-to-back North region titles.

The Bulldogs had five players scoring double digits: Keaton Hayenga scored18 points and six rebounds on the evening, Rex Nelson scored 10 points and grabbed seven rebounds, Tre Benton netted 14 points off the bench, Jon Humphrie added 13 points, and Eric Turner rounded out the double-digit scorers with 10 points.

On Saturday, Feb. 18, Bellevue took to the road again to face the Tritons of Edmonds Community College. In this contest, Bellevue jumped out to an early lead that they held onto, never allowing the Tritons closer than nine points in the last ten minutes of the game. The Bulldogs walked away with a 74-56 victory behind a strong defensive effort. Bellevue held Edmonds to 40% shooting and forced 12 turnovers. The Bulldogs were led by 16 points from Humphrie and 14 from Hayenga. Freshman Dallas Smith gave the Bulldogs a huge lift off the bench with 15 points, all in the second half. Smith recorded his career high thanks to 75% shooting from the three-point line. Turner scored 12 points and played an excellent floor game leading the Bulldog offense.

Bellevue faces a daunting schedule to finish region play. The Bulldogs start the week with two home games: first hosting Everett Community College on Monday, Feb. 20 at p.m.; then Wednesday, Feb. 22, facing the Dolphins of Shoreline Community College at 7:30 p.m.; and, finally, wrapping up North region play and the regular season with a trip to Port Angeles to face Peninsula College the 2011 NWAACC Champions on Saturday, Feb. 25, at 7 p.m.

Keaton Hayenga led Bellevue in a road win at Everett. photo by Rich Dworkis

In a crazy week dominated by wintry weather, the Bellevue College men’s basketball team saw more games postponed than actually played. However, on Saturday, Jan. 21, the Bulldogs traveled to Everett Community College for an important North region matchup. Bellevue came into the game ranked number one in the NWAACC Coaches Poll and still carrying an undefeated record on the year.

Bellevue took an early lead and never looked back turning a nine-point half time lead into a 16-point victory. The Bulldogs enjoyed a breakout performance from freshman Tre Benton. In just his second game with the Bulldogs, Benton led the team in scoring with 21 points and also
added six rebounds. Keaton Hayenga recorded a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds, while Rex Nelson rounded out the double-digit scorers with 12 points. With this win, the Bulldogs improved to 4-0 in North region play and 14-0 overall.

The Bulldogs face a daunting stretch over the next week, playing five games in ten days. Their first challenge is Monday, Jan. 23, at 7:30 p.m., hosting the Orcas of Whatcom Community College (5-0, 13-2). Whatcom, the only other undefeated team in North region play, comes into the game ranked fourth in the NWAACC Coaches Poll. On Wednesday, Jan. 25, Bellevue goes on the road to take on Shoreline CC (3-3, 9-8) at 7:30 p.m. The Bulldogs finish the week at home on Saturday, Jan. 28, with a 6 p.m. tip-off against the defending NWAACC champion Peninsula College Pirates (5-1, 15-2).

Reprinted from http://bellevuecollege.edu/athletics

Jon Humphrie leads the top-ranked Bulldogs in scoring this season. photo by Rich Dworkis

Reprinted from http://bellevuecollege.edu/athletics

Bellevue College’s men’s basketball team has been ranked among the nation’s best, coming in at #18 in the country. The Bulldogs are currently 14-1 and also ranked number one in the NWAACC Alaska Airlines Poll. Here is the link to the national rankings

Keaton Hayenga scored 29 points in a key win vs. Peninsula. photo by Rich Dworkis

The Bellevue College Men’s Basketball team faced a daunting schedule last week as they faced three of the top five teams in the North region over a six-day span. Bellevue came into the week still defending an undefeated record overall and the number one ranking in the NWAACC Coaches Poll. Bellevue also reached a milestone as the highest ranked NWAACC team ever in the jucorecruiting.com national poll. Bellevue is currently ranked 18th in the nation.

On Monday, Jan. 23, the Bulldogs hosted the Orcas of Whatcom Community College. Bellevue handed Whatcom one of its two losses on the year in the championship game of the Pierce College Thanksgiving Tournament. This game featured the last two remaining undefeated teams in North region play and a chance for an early season hold on first place.

In a game that went back and forth, Whatcom took the early first half advantage. The Orcas led by as many as 10 points in the first half, but Bellevue was able to close the gap to six at halftime. Trailing 42-36 at the half, Bellevue came out strong to start the second period of play. The Bulldogs rode a better defensive performance to their own double digit lead with nine minutes remaining in the game. Unfortunately this was enough time for Whatcom to mount a comeback. In the final minutes the game was decided by free-throw shooting. Whatcom shot 7-8 down the stretch as the Bulldogs only hit 50% of their opportunities at the line. Whatcom came away with a 77-75 victory to remain undefeated in North region play.

Bellevue was led in scoring by Tre Benton with 16 points. Keaton Hayenga scored 15 points and added eight rebounds, while Andrew Squiers scored 12 points, and Rex Nelson added 11.

Bellevue traveled to Shoreline Community College just two days later on Wednesday, Jan. 25. Shoreline plays a unique style of basketball developed in the late 80s at Loyola Marymount University where they put on constant pressure and look to shoot the ball as quickly as possible. The Bulldogs did an excellent job of dealing with the Shoreline pressure early in the game, jumping out to a 22-7 lead that the Bulldogs held onto, taking it to 53-44 at half time. However, the pace of the game eventually got to the Bulldogs. Bellevue was outscored 57-40 in the second half, losing their second game of the season and their second straight game 101-93. Free throws were an issue again as Bellevue shot 52% from the line in the second half. The Bulldogs were led by big nights from Hayenga and Nelson. Hayenga scored 32 points and grabbed a season high 20 rebounds. Nelson also recorded a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Squiers added 12 points and Benton scored 11.

Bellevue looked to bounce back in yet another big game in the North region. On Saturday, Jan. 28, the Bulldogs hosted Peninsula College. Peninsula came into the game ranked number 3 in the NWAACC coaches poll and number 42 nationally. Peninsula’s only region loss was to Whatcom. An even match-up led to an even half time score of 33-33. In the second half, Bellevue took leads of eight and 10 points only to let them slip away as Peninsula mounted a comeback. The Bulldogs finally took a lead that would hold up in the waning minutes and converted key free throws for the first time in a week. Bellevue pulled out a victory with a final score of 94-84.

The Bulldogs were once again led by Hayenga who scored 29 points to go with 9 rebounds. Sophomore Jon Humphrie played on a badly sprained ankle and still turned in a tough performance scoring 19 points with six rebounds. Nelson scored 16 points, while Eric Turner scored nine points, grabbed six rebounds, and added five assists.

Bellevue (5-2, 15-2) continues their stretch of six games in 12 days with two home games this week. On Monday, Jan. 30, the Bulldogs host the Tritons from Edmonds Community College (1-5, 1-13) at 7:30 p.m. to wrap up the first round of North region play. On Wednesday, Feb. 1, Bellevue plays Olympic College (2-4, 5-11) at home at 7:30 p.m

Originally published at http://bellevuecollege.edu/athletics/