LB Men come up short vs. Umpqua, 90-81 (Jan. 14)

ROSEBURG, Oregon – Linn-Benton fell just short of pulling off a comeback against Umpqua, losing 90-81.

The game, Jan 14. started out back and forth before a mini-Riverhawks scoring outburst saw them jump out to a 15-point halftime lead. The Beaks seemed like they were clawing back into things in the second half, pulling within five points at the 10-minute mark.

However, Umpqua would take back control, and the teams more or less went shot for shot down the stretch, meaning LB just couldn’t dig themselves out of the constant 10- to 15-point deficit.

As usual, the Beaks offense worked through freshman forward Anthony Best, who led the team with 24 points, to go along with eight rebounds. Fellow freshman Kaiden Ford also did everything he could to provide scoring the team needed to make something happen, not so much finding good spots from the field, he still found ways to put his fingerprints all over the box score, finishing with 19 points, going 9-11 from the free-throw line.

 It appeared the biggest detriment to the team in the loss was an uncharacteristically sluggish performance from the bench, the unit combining for only eight points, on 2-11 shooting

Freshman point guard Braxton Long continued his stretch of great defensive outings, stepping up to lead the team with three steals and three blocks. Long, combined with Best and Ford, have made for an exciting trio for the team this season. And it’s no surprise that there’s so much chemistry there, Long and Best having played together at Sprague High School in Salem. 

This loss makes LB 0-2 on their short two-game road trip to open away conference games, as they suffered a loss to Portland 84-77 on Jan. 10. 

Perhaps the biggest question going forward for the team is size. Being one of the smaller teams in the NWAC has had its advantages and disadvantages for the team. Teams such as Mt. Hood–who the Beaks play on Martin Luther King J, and others in the NWAC have multiple starters taller than almost anyone on LB’s roster. will be interesting to see the strategies implored by Head Coach Todd Zimmerman to steal conference wins against teams like that. 

One thing’s for sure, the Beaks will live and die by their extremely quick, unselfish and gritty style of play, and at the least, that's always going to produce some enjoyable basketball to watch.

Now sitting at a 7-9 record, 1-2 in conference play, this next stretch of games become crucial, especially at home on Saturday, Jan. 17, against Clackamas.

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