LB Men’s hoops drop games vs. Mt. Hood, LCC (Jan. 19, 21)

 TROUTDALE, OREGON – Linn-Benton men's basketball team started out hot, the energy was strong, but Mt. Hood quickly snatched back a lead they would never relinquish, and ultimately handed the Beaks a 105-88 loss on Monday, Jan. 19.

LBCC’s Kaiden Ford put up 38 points in the game, making it a bittersweet day for the Freshman point guard, who certainly would have accepted a more modest statline if it had meant a win.

“We knew an important factor would really be driving to the rim on these guys. We’re not really a team that lives or dies by the three but when we got down the game changed a bit,” Ford said. 

The team only shot 16 threes, which is right around what they usually do, but Ford shot 10 of them, showing he was confident shooting the rock, but also showing a lack of solid distribution that impacted the Roadrunners mightily.

Defensively, the team had its bright spots – 10 team steals being a great figure mustered by the team. MHCC, however, was simply relentless in their shotmaking, drilling 13 of 22 attempted threes. 

“Our goal was to make them take ‘one’ contested shot. We started out doing that but then when everyone started having to collapse on guys driving to the hoop, it left shooters open and they just got hot and stayed hot, that’s college basketball,” Head Coach Todd Zimmerman said.

Gabe Townsend also contributed 18 points and seven rebounds in the loss.

Headed back home to go at it with a familiar foe in Lane, many of the same issues arose for LB on Wednesday, Jan. 21. A great effort from the Titans from the tip-off was countered with the Roadrunners bringing some fight to the end. However, LB fell short of coming back to steal the contest, losing 90-79. 

Early, the Beaks were plagued by turnovers, then the issue was LCC zipping the basketball to consistently open players waiting at the perimeter. And the next thing you knew, LBCC was in a bad hole.

“It was from the start, they were just hitting too many good looks, and they just got rolling. We all turned the ball over too much, me especially, it got them in transition and got their confidence super high,” freshman guard Braxton Long said. 

The team really started piecing things together around the midway point of the second half, though.

“Shoot, we were down 27 at one point, cut it to nine with a minute left, I’m really proud of the group that finished that game, I thought DeShawn [Gilliam], Aiden [Moore], [Long], Jackson [Oglesby], and Kai [Russell] we’re all phenomenal down the stretch,” Zimmerman said.

Sophomore forward Moore led the team with an efficient 18 points off the bench, while his freshman counterpart Gilliam didn’t score but had four steals in the game.

“When we were down big I think the intensity dropped. I just wanted to go out there and bring some life,” Gilliam said.

Among many issues for the team as of late is a common desire to improve on the defensive end of the court –  something the team, especially Gilliam, Long and Moore, certainly take extreme pride in. Now allowing 90-plus-points in four straight games, it is clear going forward that if the team wants to make a push for the postseason, more defensive effort is going to need to present itself.

“I know we can do better at staying in front of the basketball. We aren’t going to magically get taller, but if we stick with our guys and force more contested shots everything with the defense and rebounding will fall back into place,” Zimmerman said.

Now sitting at an 8-11 record, the Beaks will travel to the Portland area for the third time in two weeks in their next game, facing Clark College on Saturday, Jan. 24.