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Saints topple Lane by 21 points in final home contest
The Advocate
The Saints men’s basketball team got a burst of energy right out of the gates Wednesday night and rolled to victory over the Lane Community College Titans 89-68 in their final home game and Sophomore Night.
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The team has won its last three games, all at home as they beat the Umpqua Community College Riverhawks last Friday 75-66 and the Southwestern Oregon Community College Lakers 92-61 Saturday.
With Wednesday night’s victory, the Saints have clinched at least a third-place finish in the Southern Region. The Saints are headed to Kennewick, Wash., in the Tri-Cities for the second consecutive year to compete March 6-9 in the NWAACC tournament at the Toyota Center.
The Saints shot 49.3 percent (34 of 69) from the field and 45 percent (9 of 20) from behind the arc.
Sophomore forward Jamar Johnson tied his career best with 35 points on 11 of 20 shooting from the field and 8 of 8 from the free throw stripe, adding a game-high eight rebounds to go along with four assists and five steals. Johnson hit five three-pointers out of eight attempts. Sophomore center Chris Weitzel scored 16 points on 7 of 9 shooting from the field, which included his first three-pointer of the season with 3:38 left in regulation.
“Jamar was amazing,” said Head Coach Geoff Gibor. “He wasn’t showboating at all. To score 35 points the way he did is really something. Our guys are coming together at the right time.
Johnson was all smiles after the 21-point victory. This was the second time in four games he scored 35 points. He is averaging 27 points in the last four games.
“It was just flowing for me tonight,” he said in excitement. “Everyone was playing together tonight. We came out with a lot of intensity, something we usually don’t do. It was a special night for us sophomores. I had family that came out. It didn’t start to settle in until a couple days ago. We (sophomores) held back tears.”
Jeremy Jones rejoined the team in a reserve role after sitting out a month due to a left high ankle sprain. Jeremy ended the night with 13 points on 6 of 10 shooting from the field and five steals in 24 minutes of action.
“I was nervous at first,” he said on returning to the court. “It was my first game coming off the bench all season. Once I got my first shot off, I was good to go. My ankle feels super good right now. I was just happy to be back with my team.”
Gibor was impressed with the way Jones returned and felt it was a step in the right direction before heading into NWAACCs.
“That was huge for him to get his confidence back,” said Gibor. He looked pretty good; actually he looked really good. I was just happy he could come back in time for Sophomore Night. He did a good job.”
It wasn’t a complete blowout until the final 10 minutes of the game when the Saints went on a 15-2 run. Gibor said that is usually “our poor portion of the game.”
During that stretch, freshman Dustin Jones scored back-to-back buckets, which included a slam-dunk on a fast break that brought the crowd to their feet with a jolt of excitement.
Dominique Watson was a highlight reel for the Storm, ending the game with 25 points on 10 of 22 shooting from the field (17 of those 25 points coming in the second half). Watson leads the NWAACCs with 29 points per contest. Watson scored a career-best 48 points in Saturday night’s 10-point upset over Clackamas Commuity College.
For Gibor, continuing to build confidence headed into the NWAACC tournament was the biggest thing the team was trying to accomplish in the last three victories in a row.
“For us, it’s trying to build momentum,” he said. “We want to get into a groove. We’re ready and real focused. I like our chances going in. In order for us to be successful, we need to continue with defense, getting rebounds and execute.”
On Saturday the Saints head to Albany to face the Linn-Benton Community College Roadrunners in their final game of the regular season. The game starts at 6 p.m. The Roadrunners sit in fourth place in the South with a record of 7-6 in conference and 12-12 overall.
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