Men’s basketball wins in Pendleton

The MHCC men’s basketball team started the regular season strong on Nov. 15, defeating Blue Mountain Community College in Pendleton, 82-74.

The Saints had three starters score in double figures, and sophomore Brock Otis and freshman Oleg Marandyuk added 14 and 10 points off the bench, respectively.

“We were able to get the ball inside to the post players. That helped us set the tone early,” said Geoff Gibor, Mt. Hood head coach. “I felt like we made BMCC play defense against our size.”

Gibor also credited the Saints’ unity. “We are fortunate to have such a close knit group. It definitely helped us win,” he said.

Saints sophomore center Mac Johnson scored a team-high 17 points, matching the game-high total, and added 10 rebounds.

“We are showing improvement as a team, especially on defense, but the big challenge for us will be to keep improving and not get complacent,” Johnson said.

Mt. Hood sophomores Landon Rushton and Blake Updike contributed 16 and 10 points, respectively.

The Saints started the game well and led at halftime, 36-28. The second half opened up, with both teams scoring 46 points, but Mt. Hood kept the lead and earned the win.

“We didn’t back down throughout the whole game,” said Rushton. “We stayed together and tried to make every possession count.”

The Saints shot 46 percent from the field going, 30-for-64, compared to Blue Mountain’s 40 percent. Mt. Hood narrowly won the rebound battle, 41-40, with sophomore Thomas Simien grabbing 7 boards to go along with Johnson’s 10.

Aggressiveness also got the Saints to the free throw line more often than Blue Mountain, where they scored 18 points.

“Obviously, the sophomores should have an advantage at this point due to their experience,” Gibor said of the Saints’ second-year leaders. “However, the freshmen have done a great job.”

Next week, the team travels to Longview, Wash., for the Red Devil Classic tournament. Mt. Hood will play its first game at 3 p.m. on Nov. 29 against Yakima Valley Community College.

“We want to raise our level of play and to pressure the absolute crap out of teams,” said Rushton.

The Saints’ head coach agreed that ball handling will be critical.

“We know Yakima is going to pressure us the entire game. We are going into that game with a focus on handling that pressure to ensure we can get a good shot every possession,” Gibor said.

The new season has great potential, Gibor said.

“This team has a chance to become really good. We have a lot of pieces,” he said. “If we continue to play hard and develop, I like the direction we are headed.”