Saints sneak into third

The NWAC men’s basketball Red Devil Classic was played over Thanksgiving break at Lower Columbia College in Longview, Washington. And the Mt. Hood Saints finished in third place in the tournament, winning two of their three games. They lost Friday to Centralia 93-91, topped Yakima 106-91 on Saturday, and on Sunday ended the tournament with a victory over Lower Columbia College, 85-67.

Against the Centralia College Trailblazers, sophomore forward Cody Thompson was the leading scorer for the Saints with 21 points, six rebounds, and three steals. He was followed closely by sophomore shooting guard Elijah Fuller, who had 20 points, two steals, and one block. The Saints shot a blazing 50 percent for the game, going 30-for-60, bettering the Trailblazers’ 46 percent on 31-of-68 shooting.

At the half the Saints led 48-37, and the win looked to be within reach. But the Trailblazers caught fire, scoring 56 points on 18-of-32 shooting in the second half. It proved to be too much for the Saints, who lost the hard-fought nail-biter by two.

After the game Fuller said, “We realized as a team that we aren’t good enough to come in and think we’ll win a game just off pure talent. We need to stay focused for the whole 40 minutes.”

In Game Two against the Yakima Valley College Yaks, Fuller led all scores with 20 points, four rebounds, and two steals. Freshman post Wes Persinger had a solid contribution with 16 points and 10 rebounds in just 17 minutes of play.

The Saints led the Yaks at halftime, 54-45. In the second half they put up 52 points more and held the Yaks to a dismal 26 percent from the field. The Saints shot nearly 50 percent for the game, compared to the Yaks’ sub-30 percent shooting. With an all-around better performance than on Friday, the Saints toppled the Yaks by 15 points.

At that point, Mt. Hood was sitting in the 5th place slot. If things went as normal, the Saints would have played for fourth place in the tournament against South Division rival Southwestern Oregon. But NWAC rules prevent inter-region play before scheduled division games begin. So, instead, the Saints were moved into a game against Lower Columbia College for a chance at third place.

Against the tournament host Fuller led the Saints in scoring again, totaling 16 points, seven rebounds, four assists, and three steals.

At the end of the first half, Mt. Hood led 34-30, but both teams were struggling to score, shooting under 40 percent. In the second half the Saints turned up the heat, shooting a blistering 64 percent and scoring 51 points. They pulled away to win handily, 85-67, and take third place.

After the win, Persinger said, “After the first loss we all knew that we had to play as a team and come out with a ton of energy. When we play as a team I don’t think anyone can beat us.

“This week we shot amazing from the field, we passed the ball nicely and played great team defense towards the end of the tournament. I think we need to keep playing Saints basketball, and it will be an amazing year for Mt. Hood.”

Freshman point guard John Tibbs still sees room for improvement. “Our goal in the future is to maintain a lead and make it greater each four minute segment, (and) that consists of defense as a priority,” he said.

Mt. Hood starts play in the two-day Walla Walla Warrior Classic tonight, in eastern Washington. The Saints are hoping they can take what they learned last weekend and see it translate in this tournament.