Roadrunner men get it done in basketball thriller over Clackamas (Jan. 17)

 The gym wasn’t packed, but there was something about the home atmosphere that LB was feeding off in their Saturday afternoon 107-103 victory over Clackamas.

Going into the Jan. 17 game and early in the contest, clear-cut challenges appeared. But a balanced team attack in a cardio-intensive, foul-heavy shootout secured a crucial home conference win. 

Freshman guard Kaiden Ford led the team in scoring with 26 points — in 30 efficient minutes, where he also added three steals, a block and six rebounds, all while turning the ball over just once.

“It’s all my teammates. Our spacing today, it was getting me shots. Wasn’t my best day from the line but having teammates like I have gives me a big boost,” Ford explained.

Of the aforementioned challenges the team faced, an illness to top contributor forward Anthony Best reared its ugly head. Then came tough and consistent Clackamas ball pressure. The Cougars wanted to force the Beaks into bad shots. The response instead was steady ball movement and a willingness to wait for the right shots on each and every possession.

“It’s been a point of emphasis in these last couple games. We’ve been too sloppy with the basketball or too slow to get it to the right person's hands,” Head Coach Todd Zimmerman said. 

The team had 18 assists, which is a pretty solid figure that Zimmerman wishes the team would reach more often. Linn-Benton certainly came to play as a team and it reflects in the box score.

Sophomore forward Gabe Townsend had 20 points — making him one of six Roadrunners (of the total eight that played more than a minute in the game) to score in double figures.

A fine offensive first half where the team was simply outplayed ended with an Aiden Moore buzzer-beater three. The Beaks rode the momentum into the start of the second half, going from down eight to up by as many as 13 by the middle of the half.

“The call to step up was huge for [the core of the second unit]. We have three roles — we need guys to start, we need guys to be game changers, and we need guys to support. Every guy on our team can do each role, but especially [Moore] and Deshawn [Gilliam] were fantastic today,” Zimmerman said.

With a short bench the team leaned on freshmen forwards Gilliam and Moore, both of whom scored in double figures and only missed a field goal apiece off the bench. Both also played crucial minutes down the stretch.

Clackamas’ offensive strategy revolved around attacking LB’s sixth man guard Kai Russell, who was thrust into starting. Russell, who is listed at 5-feet-10 inches tall, held his own but got in foul trouble with so much offense concentrated on him.

When Russell fouled out with six minutes left in the game, CCC tried to mount a comeback but fell just short, when Moore iced the game on free throws.

“We all know, whoever starts, whoever finishes, we got a shot to take the game,” Russell said.

The team will head up I-5 to face Mt. Hood in their next contest on Monday, Jan. 19.

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