Men’s effort evident, not quite enough
Mt. Hood’s inside presence proves too much in the end for the Riverhawks men’s team
If Saturday night’s basketball game was determined by effort and toughness, the UCC’s mens team would have won their contest versus the Mt. Hood Saints hands-down. The men may have been a perceived underdog going into a matchup against the Mt. Hood team that boasted an enormous front line, but it did not show a bit in a heart-breaking 73-70 loss to Mt. Hood (15-5, 4-3 NWAACC South) on Jan. 25.
The Riverhawks, (5-14, 1-6 NWAACC South) fell behind 17-7 early in the first half, but quickly clawed their way back by turning 10 first half turnovers into 12 Riverhawk points, finishing the first half down by four, at 32-36. The battle continued into the second half of the game, with the Saints never stretching their lead to more than five points.
Riverhawk Mishima Gray sliced and diced his way into the paint throughout the contest going up against bigger Saint defenders for numerous lay-ups, that led to his team high 22 points and four assists. With 10 minutes left in the game, UCC would tie the score at 50 all. However, Mt. Hood would regain a slight lead on the backs of their dominating big men in the middle. The Saints would eventually take a three point lead with nine seconds to play, setting up the game’s final play. Gray would weave his way through traffic up the court past numerous defenders and ultimately just miss a 3-pointer at regulation, leaving a score of 73-70 on the board.
Forward Derrick Wattman scored 13 points, while Nick Corpening added seven points, five rebounds and two steals. Jonathan Bolston and Tormall Thomas were solid off the bench scoring seven points apiece respectively. Unfortunately, MHCC finished the game with a 47-28 rebounding advantage that ultimately allowed them to escape with a victory. The next home game for the UCC men’s team will be Feb. 5, against Lane Community College at 7:30 p.m.