Saints get much-needed victory in Portland

On Wednesday, the Saints men were able to sneak past Portland Community College late to pull out a 69-66 must-win road contest. The victory came on the heels of a tough 80-72 home loss to Lane CC last Saturday.

MHCC started out slow against PCC, struggling to rebound and play clean ball (12 turnovers in the first half alone).

The Panthers were able to outrebound the Saints by eight in the first half and held a seven-point lead at the half.

Following a halftime discussion from head coach Geoff Gibor, the Saints came out firing on all cylinders and pounced on the Panthers. Taking control of the game, Mt. Hood outrebounded Portland by 11 in the second-half, and shot a strong 57% from the field.

The Saints outscored the Panthers by 10 in the second half, to win by a slim, three-point margin.

Freshman guard Jamal Muhammad, who finished with a game-high 22 points on 8-of-14 shooting from the field, gave his thoughts on the comeback.

“We started off slow and not being as strong with the ball, but at halftime we came in and had a convo about having heart,” he said.

“We came out in the second half with pride and gave it our all. Putting everything on the floor with no regrets and outworked them in the second-half and came out with the W,” he continued. “It was fun to see that our squad really has heart!”

Gibor was pleased with the win and the fact that the Saints were able to pull out a narrow victory after all the close losses suffered earlier in the season.

Red-shirt freshman forward Kody Kennedy assisted the Saints comeback, scoring 19 points on an impressive 8-for-10 from the field and grabbing six rebounds. Sophomore Jason Wallace added seven points.

With the win over Portland, the Saints now sit in fifth place in the South Region, (5-6 in region play, 8-14 overall).

To make the NWAC playoffs, the Saints must finish at least fourth in the South Region. Umpqua Community College (6-5 in the South, 15-10 overall) currently holds a one-game edge over Mt. Hood.

With just three games remaining, Coach Gibor discussed the importance of the team playing free and not saving anything.

“We just have to do the best we can and I keep telling our guys to play free. Just forget about the last game and whatever good or bad it is, play and have fun,” he said.

“I also tell them not to save anything. Athletes sometimes have the tendency to save energy and save things for later that never comes. We don’t need to save anything,” he said. “We’ve got to put it out there and leave it on the floor.”

The next in the string of must-win games for the Saints comes on Saturday against the Linn-Benton Roadrunners (2-9 in the South, 6-15 overall).

“They’re a pretty good team. Adam Moore, their leading scorer is really good. They’re big. They shoot good,” said Gibor. “They play a lot of zone, we know that. So we have to weather the storm at their place and play with no regrets.”

Tip-off is set for 4 p.m. at Linn-Benton Community College.

Chief MHCC rival Clackamas Community College comes to town next Wednesday, in the Saints’ final home game of the season.

“All we can do is control what we can control,” Gibor said of the impending battles. “Win the next three games and we are in (the NWAC playoffs).”