Saints pummel Storm, seize lead in Southern Region

The Chemeketa Storm found out Wednesday night that revenge is a dish best served cold, as the Mt. Hood Saints defeated the Storm 94-76 on home court to take over sole possession of first place in the Southern Region.

As the game clock ran to zero and Mt. Hood fans gave the home team a rousing standing ovation, the visiting team exited the court with their heads hung in defeat. The Saints, who entered the game tied with the Storm at 10-2, had entered the game with a chip on their shoulder but left vindicated.
In their first meeting Jan. 25, the Storm defeated the Saints 89-77, handing the Saints their first loss in the Southern Region and breaking an eight-game MHCC win streak.

“I think that for the players, there’s bigger motivation to beat a team the next time,” said head coach Jeff Gibor. “We were able to see what they did well the first time around and make adjustments.”

The Saints were propelled by sophomore point guard and co-captain Marcus Moore, who led the Saints with 25 points. Spencer Clayton had 15 points and 10 rebounds.

The first half began with both teams going tit-for-tat, staying even in scoring until the Storm pulled away to end the half six points ahead. The Saints, who had many turnovers in the first half and 20 for the game, came out hard against the Storm after the break. Gibor, who has stressed the importance of being patient and playing their style of ball, said they knew how to adjust in the second half.

“Coach just told us to stay calm,” Moore said. “The turnovers we did have had good intentions behind them. He just told us to slow it down and visualize the play before it happens.”

Moore took turns with teammate Robby Rivers dropping shots during a 13-0 Saints run in the second half. He said he felt the pressure to get it done at home. “We wanted to beat them because they beat us last time but also because of the (tie-breaker) and the fact that it was sophomore night and our last home game, that was just icing on the cake. ”

Moore and sophomore teammates Rivers, Rei Jensen, Coletun Tarr, Clayton, Curtis Papenfuss, Drew Johnson and Alan Yates played their final home game at Hood behind a supportive home crowd that held signs in support of the team. Some vigorously heckled the opposition.

Gibor, in his third season as head coach for the Saints, said he’s proud of the leadership his sophomores have shown.

“It’s going to be a really tough group to say bye to,” Gibor said Thursday. “Just to see how they’ve all grown and to see the joy on their faces last night was pretty impressive.”

But the work is not done. The Saints still have one team left to play in the region as they will head to Albany Saturday to play the Linn-Benton

Roadrunners, who are tied with the Southwestern Lakers with a 7-6 record in the South. If the Lakers win against the Storm Saturday, they will have a shot at clinching a playoff position. If they lose, and the Lakers win, they will just miss playoff contention and end the season in the fifth seat in the Southern Region.

With the win Saturday, the Saints (now 11-2 in the region) secured a playoff berth and following Wednesday night’s game will at least tie for the Southern Region title. The Storm, now one game behind the Saints with a 10-3 record, will share the title with the Saints if they defeat the Southwestern Lakers Saturday and the Saints lose to the Roadrunners.

If that happens, the teams will end the season as Southern Region co-champions. But the Saints will drop to the number two seed in the NWAACC playoff tournament based on a number that was drawn by coaches at the beginning of the season.

The Saints will play the Roadrunners Saturday with a gametime of 6 p.m.
On Feb. 18, the Saints defeated the Southwestern Lakers 86-77 in Coos Bay.
Jensen led the Saints in scoring with 22 points and 12 rebounds. Moore added 21 points in the win, and Clayton had 18.