WINCHESTER – The Umpqua men’s basketball team took over sole possession of first place in the Northwest Athletic Conference South Region with one of its best defensive performances of the season.
The RiverHawks hosted Lane Community College and its top-scoring offense on Wednesday and held the Titans to a season-low point total in a 68-64 victory at Umpqua Community College.
“I was super proud of them on the defensive end,” said Umpqua head coach Daniel Leeworthy. “We bought into the scouting report and we really played to their personnel and their tendencies really well.”
The proof is in the numbers. Umpqua (14-7; 7-1 South) held Lane to its fewest made field goals (25), worst shooting percentage (35.7) and fewest made 3-pointers (4). The Titans had come into the contest averaging a NWAC best 103.9 points per game.
The RiverHawks pulled ahead 7-0 to start the game and led by their widest margin at 51-38 with about 16 minutes left in the second half.
Things turned sour as UCC went cold for a stretch of about four minutes in the second half and Lane (17-3; 6-2 South) went on a 13-2 run to get back into the game. The RiverHawks managed to hang on to a slim lead for a little while longer, but the Titans took their first lead of the game on a 3-point shot by Tarik Cool with two minutes, 25 seconds left to play.
Cool sank another bucket to give LCC a 64-61 lead with 98 seconds remaining.
With their heels on the ledge, the RiverHawks turned to their defense in the closing minute. Connor Shaw started the comeback with a steal that resulted in the game-tying 3-pointer from Eric Klekas. Tied at 64, Shaw poked away another steal with under a minute to go and made a driving layin that put UCC ahead for good.
“That was a toughness game,” Shaw said after celebrating with teammates in the locker room. When thinking back to the final moments of the game he said “That can hurt a team. Lead the whole entire game and then they (the opponent) takes the lead. But I thought we battled back, got some stops and made some plays.”
Shaw finished with 17 points to lead the RiverHawks. Klekas added 14 points and John Morrill-Keeler battled numerous blows to the nose causing bleeding, but still finished with a 10 points and 10 rebounds for a double-double.
Cool finished with a game-high 18 points to lead the Titans. The redshirt sophomore came into the game averaging 25.1 points per game, third best in the NWAC.
Umpqua’s win combined with Lane’s loss and a 73-66 loss for Chemeketa puts the RiverHawks alone in first in the South Region standings with eight games left to play.
“Being in first right now is nice because it’s the midway point through (the league schedule),” said coach Leeworthy. “We’ve got to hit the road and play against some tough teams. You know, we want the South Region championship, but we’re going to take it one game at a time.”
Up next for UCC is a road test at Linn-Benton on Wednesday, Feb. 6.
Lane (64) – Tarik Cool 18, Brown 2, Wilson 15, Hounshell 5, Mathis 15, Erickson 1, Bonds 6, Graves 2, Sorber 0. Totals 25-70 10-14 64
Umpqua (68) – Connor Shaw 17, Klekas 14, Morrill-Keeler 10, Mortensen 9, Martin 8, Benzel 8, Sutton 2, Gilbert 0. Totals 29-66 5-6 68
Halftime – UCC 45-36. 3-point Goals – Lane 4 (Cool 2, Hounshell 1, Bonds 1). Umpqua 5 (Klekas 2, Martin 2, Shaw 1). Total Fouls – Lane 10. Umpqua 9.
