UCC Basketball: Riverhawks take two from Linn-Benton in South Region action

WINCHESTER — The Umpqua Riverhawks men’s and women’s basketball team are off to a hot start to in the NWAC South Region after taking a pair of games against the Linn-Benton Roadrunners on Wednesday. 

The No. 6-ranked Umpqua men remained undefeated in league play with a 90-81 win over Linn-Benton. 

The Riverhawks built a 47-32 lead in the first half. The 15-point advantage was enough of a cushion to survive a second half rally by LBCC. The Roadrunners drew within 59-54 with 11:47 left to play in regulation, but Umpqua (15-1, 3-0 South Region) was able to stretch the lead back out to as much as 19 points. 

Mikey Lloyd had a game-high 26 points to lead UCC. He added seven rebounds and six assists. 

Anthony Best scored 24 points and had eight rebounds to lead Linn-Benton (7-9, 1-2).

The No. 10 Umpqua women defeated Linn-Benton 87-81.

The Riverhawks had to overcome an 8-point deficit after the first quarter but took a lead into the fourth quarter. The Roadrunners rallied and took a brief 76-73 lead with under three minutes to play, but UCC finished on a 14-5 run to pick up the victory. 

Kaelyn Shoemaker led the way for Umpqua (11-5, 2-1 South Region) with 29 points and 25 rebounds. Rebekah Beltran added 21 points for the Riverhawks. 

Linn-Benton (4-12, 1-2) was led by Sadie Wendring with a game-high 33 points.

The UCC men and women will host the Clark Penguins for another league matchup on Saturday. The men tipoff at 2 p.m. and the women at 4 p.m. 

Watch Umpqua Riverhawks athletics on the Riverhawks TV YouTube channel.