EC's furious finish stifles Dolphins in final minutes

LYNNWOOD -- Better late than never. Edmonds men's basketball mounted a furious comeback in the final minutes to knock off Shoreline at home, 75-71.

Trailing 68-61 with just over two minutes left, it looked like the team was headed for their first region loss, but Josiah Pierre's basket started a flurry of action which resulted in a 14-3 run to close out the game. Pierre was fouled going up and completed the three-point play by sinking his free throw. Shoreline drew a foul on their next offensive possession and made 1 of 2 from the charity stripe to push their lead back to 69-64. Sam Lockhart responded with a huge corner three which fully swung the momentum in the Tritons favor. Naser Motley followed that up with a steal on the other end. He went coast to coast but his shot was blocked, luckily Orion (OJ) Dybdahl ran the floor and was there to cleaup the shot, tying the game at 69-69. Another key defensive stop led to Pierre backing his defender down and finishing it off the glass. Yet another defensive stop -- this time an offensive foul -- put the ball back in Edmonds' hands, and Motley took his turn to drive and finish off the backboard, extending the score to 73-69. Shoreline would net a putback with 2.7 seconds left, but Nick Linhardt's free throws iced the game.

Pierre poured in 18, Linhardt scored 16, and Dybdahl added 12 points. There were nine ties and four lead changes in the game.

Next up is a showdown with the other unbeaten team in the North -- the Skagit Valley Cardinals. That game tips off in Mount Vernon at 4 p.m. on Saturday.