Saints make playoffs, despite loss to Umpqua

Last Saturday, the Saints men’s basketball team suffered a tough 86-81 overtime road loss to Umpqua CC in their season finale – but is headed for the NWAC championship tournament this weekend, anyway.

In a shocking turn of events, the Saints learned before their game that they were in the playoffs. Due to the use of an ineligible player, the South Region-leading Chemeketa Storm had to forfeit all 29 of their games. That propelled the Saints into the fourth and final South Region tournament slot, regardless of the outcome against the Riverhawks.

Mt. Hood head coach Geoff Gibor explained the Chemeketa matter:  “Guess they had a guy who played in some sort of a summer pro-league a few years back. (The guy didn’t) receive any financial benefits or anything like that, but apparently when you play in that league you give away your amateur status,” he said.

The Saints’ gain was clearly a pain for the Storm, Gibor added.

“It’s unfortunate for their program because I like those guys,” he added. “I’m really close to their coaches, so it’s unfortunate.”

In Mt. Hood’s game in Roseburg on Saturday, the first half was nothing special for either side. Mt. Hood took a 34-33 advantage over Umpqua at halftime after shooting a lackluster 38 percent from the field.

However, the Saints came out in the second half strong and built as much as a 10-point lead. A late rally by the Riverhawks forced the game into overtime, at 69 all.

Umpqua had the upper hand in the overtime period, outscoring the Saints 17-12 to walk away with the comeback victory.

Gibor pointed to second-chance points as the Saints’ back-breaker. Although the stat sheet said Umpqua had 20 second-chance points for Umpqua, he said he believes the actual number was closer to 30 points.

The Saints did get solid production from sophomores Oleg Marandyuk and Jason Wallace, and freshman Jamal Muhammad.

Muhammad finished with a near double-double, with a total of 24 points and nine rebounds. Marandyuk provided 18 points and six rebounds, while Wallace added 15 points and five rebounds.

The loss stung a lot less, after the Saints learned earlier in the day about Chemeketa’s forfeits – giving them the fourth and final South Region playoff spot, regardless of Saturday’s outcome.

Marandyuk said the news jolted the team heading into the Umpqua game. “It was kind of weird because we found out the whole situation with Chemeketa, so I think that some guys might have lost a little focus just because they knew we were in.”

Following the Umpqua loss, and credited with the forfeited games, Mt. Hood’s revised record stood at 9-5 in league play, and 12-13 overall.

As a result, the Saints will face Edmonds CC in the first round of playoffs at 2 p.m. Saturday in the Toyota Center, in Kennewick, Wash.

Edmonds (12-2 in league play, 24-5 overall) finished with the second-best overall record in the NWAC, behind North Region rival Bellevue CC (25-4).

Gibor discussed his team’s chances, and keys to success.

“Everyone’s got to be on the same page for us. With the intensity we had against Clackamas that night (a crucial 85-76 Saints win on Feb. 25). It has to be the same mentality going into the tournament,” he said. “We’ve got to be about playing defense and getting rebounds.

“(Edmonds) are the number one team in the NWAC. They’re good. They’re athletic … We’re going to have to make them take tough shots and make sure we only give them one opportunity to take a shot per possession by getting rebounds.”

Ultimately, Gibor believes the game will come down to who wins the “battle of the boards” and the “battle in the paint.”

Saints sophomore guard and First-Team All-Defense South Region selection Kylelle Brown spoke on the Saints’ focus heading into the impending challenge.

“A few huge things we’re focusing on is getting back on defense, rebounding, and taking care of the ball because they are a transition team,” Brown said about Edmonds. “If we can eliminate that part of their game we should be fine.”

The championship tournament runs Saturday through Tuesday. The Saints hope to make the best of their somewhat-surprise chance.

“For us, we’ve been given an opportunity and we got to take advantage of it,” said Gibor.