Mt. Hood men streak into the playoffs

The Mt. Hood men defied the odds and reached the NWAC basketball playoffs, after all.

Finishing fourth in the South division, the Saints were scheduled to play North division winner Shoreline on Thursday night (following Advocate press time) in the first round of the 16-team NWAC championship tournament, hosted by Everett Community College.

Three weeks ago, Mt. Hood was just two games back of the fourth and final playoff spot. But it seemed unlikely, at best, that they would reach the NWACs. They were coming off back-to-back losses to Chemeketa and Umpqua on Feb. 8-11. The Saints were 4-7 in division play and sat in eighth place in the South.

To make the playoffs, the Saints were going to need to play perfect. The season was on the line and for some sophomores, these might be the last real games they’d ever get to play. And yet, sophomore forward Luke Anderson was like much of the team, still positive they could pull it off. On Feb. 12 he said, “We can’t worry about our last game or winning all five at once. We just have to win one at a time, and I think we can do that.”

It seemed overly optimistic. (I get it, when it comes to believing in your own team, it’s easy to be optimistic. Heck, every season I believe the Rams might find a way to sneak into the NFL playoffs: talk about optimism!).

Despite the unlikelihood, the Saints pushed on, and Feb. 15 they topped Clackamas. The win was huge, bringing them to within one game of the playoff spot and it came over a top rival. Still, Mt. Hood hadn’t won more than two games in a row since Dec. 3, back during the preseason.

Next up, the Saints notched a victory over Lane. They still trailed fourth by one game. Linn-Benton would be their next victim; but again, they sat one game back.

Finally on Sophomore Night, March 1, Mt. Hood would jump into a fourth-place tie, with a win over Portland. And then Saturday they clinched the playoff spot by beating Southwestern Oregon, 75-62.

Saints head coach John Hawley knew they had it them to make the playoffs, even after a choppy season marked by snow- and ice-caused delays and schedule changes.

“I knew we were capable of playing the way we ended the season,” back in rhythm, he said. “I’m just ecstatic for them. (The playoffs are) not an opportunity that comes around all the time.”

Over the five-game stretch run, sophomore forward Cody Thompson was dominant for Mt. Hood. He averaged 18.4 points and 6.4 rebounds per game. He said he was just happy the Saints made it to the NWACs, after a rough season a year ago.

“It is kinda surreal that we won five straight and made ‘selection Sunday’ ” for the NWAC, Thompson said. “It feels great to make playoffs after the way last year went.”

Anderson led the team in rebounding with 8.8 per game, and averaged 11 points during the five games. He said, “It feels great to know that all of our work has paid off. But we aren’t satisfied yet, we feel that we still have more to prove.

“It is pretty crazy for us to have to win our last five to be in this position,” Anderson continued. “But maybe that’s what we needed, our backs up against the wall to show what we can really do.”

Saints shooting guard Elijah Fuller contributed 10.8 points and 6.3 rebounds per game during the winning steak.

The question now becomes, can the Saints keep their hot streak alive through the double-elimination tournament? They were set to find out in the opening matchup with Shoreline on Thursday.

Said Mt. Hood point guard John Tibbs, “It feels like we were destined to be here.”