Mt. Hood men represent on the road

The Saints men continued their solid start this basketball season at the Walla Walla Warrior Classic, in southeast Washington, by going 2-0. Last Friday night they topped Columbia Basin, 86-57. Then Saturday they beat Walla Walla, 96-91, bringing them to 5-2 on the season.

Even with their good start, the Saints knew they had things to work on during the weekend. One of those things was their defense. Freshman point guard John Tibbs was frustrated with the Mt. Hood defense recently. After the Saints’ loss to Centralia on Nov. 25, he said, “Just like every game before… we have not played defense in the second half, allowing almost 50 points again. We keep letting our foot off the gas instead of getting to the finish line even faster.”

This week, Tibbs sung a different tune after the tournament. “These were two of our better defensive games we have had so far,” he said after the weekend sweep.

In Game One against the Columbia Basin Hawks, Mt. Hood came out strong, closing out the first half holding a 49-29 lead. In the second half, the Saints slowed down a little bit, but not enough for the Hawks to get back in the game, still outscoring them 37-28.

The final score, 86-57, said it all. The Saints were clicking on both sides, offensively and defensively.

In Game Two against the Walla Walla Warriors, MHCC trailed at halftime, 45-43. The game was a battle but the Saints fought back and won the game by five, 96-91. They outscored the Warriors 53-46 in the second half. They could have had a much larger victory but they allowed 20 points in the final four minutes to Walla Walla. Tibbs called the Saints’ late lapse their weakest point defensively over the weekend, and said the team still has room for improvement. He went on to say, “We are still doing a poor job overall, but we made great steps forward of progress this weekend.”

Starting forward Luke Anderson was really happy with how the Saints played.

“I think our game against Walla Walla was the first time we played two good halves of basketball… we defended in the second half, and hit foul shots down the stretch,” he said.

Overall, Mt. Hood saw some strong performances this weekend from its starters. Forward Cody Thompson, who stands 6 foot, 6 inches, averaged 23 points per game and four rebounds. Anderson averaged 13 points and led the team in rebounding at 11.5, while he blocked two shots. Shooting guard Elijah Fuller averaged 15.5 points, three rebounds, and three assists. And Tibbs averaged 10.5 points, four assists, and 2.5 steals.

The Saints play tonight and Saturday in Ontario, on the Oregon-Idaho border, first against College of Southern Idaho and then against Treasure Valley Community College. Over Winter break, they will play Dec. 15-17 in the Spokane, Washington, portion of the NWAC crossover tournament.

Advocate Staff