ALBANY – The 2nd-ranked Umpqua men’s basketball team showed off its depth in an 83-71 win over the Linn-Benton Roadrunners on Wednesday night.

The RiverHawks were missing second-leading scorer Connor Shaw due to a back injury, but still managed to build a 40-31 lead at halftime. Sophomore Eric Klekas scored 21 of his game-high 23 points in the first half.

Umpqua (15-7; 8-1) stretched the lead to 13 points early in the second half and found ways to answer runs by LBCC down the stretch.

The Roadrunners cut the deficit down to 66-61 with 6:03 left to go in the game. Umpqua rallied with a 14-8 run to get the lead back to double figures and out of reach for Linn-Benton. Freshmen John Morrill-Keeler and Kolton Mortensen combined for 18 points in the second half. The two big-men stepped up their scoring after the break as the Roadrunners looked to control Klekas.

“We showed our depth in the second half,” said coach Daniel Leeworthy. “We knew they were going to make adjustments at halftime on Klekas and we needed to get other guys involved.”

Morrill-Keeler finished with 18 points and six rebounds. Mortensen added 12 points.

Nicholas Wolff had 19 points to lead Linn-Benton (12-9; 6-4). Riley Davis added 15 points and 10 rebounds.

Up next, the Umpqua men will host Mt. Hood on Saturday. The RiverHawks narrowly won a 77-73 game against the Saints in Gresham at the start of the league season. Leeworthy said he’ll be reminding the team of that close game and of a home loss to Mt. Hood last year.

Tipoff on Saturday is scheduled for 4 p.m. at Umpqua Community College.

UMPQUA (83) – Eric Klekas 10-20 0-0 23, Gilbert 3-7 0-0 7, Martin 3-5 0-0 8, Mortensen 5-7 0-0 12, Morrill-Keeler 8-14 2-2 18, Campbell 0-0 0-0 0, Sutton 1-1 0-0 2, Benzel 2-5 2-2 6, Peterson 2-3 3-7 7, Marz 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 34-62 7-11 83.

LINN-BENTON (71) – Nicholas Wolff 6-18 5-5 19, Davis 7-9 1-1 15, Harvey 3-7 0-0 6, Brandt 4-10 0-0 9, Ismay 1-3 0-0 3, Morton 0-2 0-0 0, Cullison 0-0 0-0 0, Chahal 3-8 3-5 10, Wilmes 2-3 3-4 7, Kurahara 0-2 2-2 2. Totals 26-62 14-17 71.

Halftime – UCC 40-31. 3-point Goals – UCC 8-23 (Klekas 3-8, Martin 2-4, Mortensen 2-4, Gilbert 1-5, Benzel 0-1, Peterson 0-1). LBCC 5-17 (Wolff 2-7, Harvey 0-2, Brandt 1-2, Ismay 1-1, Chahal 1-4, Kurahara 0-1). Total Fouls – Umpqua 12. Linn-Benton 14. Rebounds – UCC 32 (Klekas, Morrill-Keeler, Benzel 6). LBCC 34 (Davis 10). Assists – UCC 13 (Klekas 6). LBCC 7 (Davis, Ismay 2). Turnovers – Umpqua 12. Linn-Benton 9.