Saints basketball tipped off

The Mt. Hood men’s and women’s basketball teams have gotten off to a solid start early in their seasons. Both have already taken part in separate holiday tournaments, the women at the Clackamas Community College Thanksgiving Invitational and the men traveling to Lower Columbia CC for the Red Devil Classic, both played Nov. 27–29. Both squads advanced out of the first round, the men topping Yakima Valley 67-61, and the women defeating the Pacific University JV team, 71-57.

The second round saw the women fall to Clackamas by 14, then move on to the third-place game against Southwestern Oregon CC. In a high scoring affair, the Saints came from behind to secure the win, bringing home some hardware from the tournament. The men’s team also played for third, but the host Red Devils had other plans and knocked them off, 71-54.

Counting tournament play, the men are 1-3 on the year, averaging 66 points per game while their defense gives up just over 74 points. The gap isn’t a lot to correct though, considering the Saints are collectively shooting just 65 percent from the free-throw line and opponents have an 8-point edge in field goal percentage thus far. The talent is there, the pieces are in place; now, it simply has to come together.

The Mt. Hood women currently stand at 3-2 while scoring an average of 72 and giving up less than 66 points per game. They’re shooting just shy of 39 percent from the floor and have outrebounded their opponents 234-184 over those five games. Like the men, a slight improvement in free throws made would help cover any other gaps, but overall the Saints women are strong, especially for a team with a short bench.

The women travel to take on Blue Mountain next on Dec. 11 before the Green River Crossover tournament, also against Blue Mountain on Dec. 17.  Their next scheduled game takes place at the Lower Columbia Holiday Classic vs. North Idaho on Dec. 28.

The Saints men are on the road for their next four games, first against Walla Walla tonight, then back-to-back matches with Blue Mountain before facing Columbia Basin on Dec. 12.  They’ll head into the South Puget Sound Crossover tournament from there, squaring off with the host Clippers on Dec. 17.

At this point in the year, teams are still sharpening their skills before regional play begins, and both their divisions are looking mighty strong.  Head coach John Hawley and the Saints sure have their work cut out for them.