Despite stellar play and team comradery, the RiverHawks were defeated 93 to 78 by the Clark College Penguins. Clark sparked a very large run to win.
Daniel Leeworthy, UCC’s men’s head basketball coach, believes that the late game lead was due to a lack of defense with the other team on a hot streak. “We were settling for too many jump shots. We couldn’t get a stop to save our lives. They had three or four guys on fire, and it is hard to play against that many guys on fire.”
On fire indeed. The Penguins averaged 61.3 percent in field goals during the second half. That kind of shooting compared to UCC’s 35.5 percent shut the door.
Clark College also grabbed seven more boards than the RiverHawks, giving them a rebounding advantage.
The entire first half of the game was very close, the score ending 41 to 34 RiverHawks. UCC shot at 48.3 percent vs the Penguin’s 50 percent with the half coming down to the wire. UCC recorded two blocks and three steals while grabbing 20 defensive rebounds. Clark grabbed five steals and 27 defensive rebounds.
Eric Klekas of UCC scored more than a quarter of the RiverHawks points, tallying 20 with four 3-pointers, two free throws, and three shots from inside the three point line. He also recorded one block, one assist and six rebounds.
Clark’s Courtney Anderson totaled 19 points, six rebounds, five assists and two steals.
The game’s atmosphere was intense; both teams brought a ferocity to the court. UCC’s bench cheered their teammates with amazing support.
“This is something the bench has done for a lot of years. Enthusiasm is contagious, and we always want the bench to be enthusiastic,” Leeworthy stated.