The men’s basketball team avenged their only division loss Wednesday night, beating top-ranked Chemeketa 81-68 to force a playoff deciding game.

The Saints have tied their division record with Chemeketa (13-1) and even though Mt. Hood has the best overall record (24-2), the league wins are what count towards the tournament. So the two teams will face each other tonight at Mt. Hood, 7:30 p.m., to determine the number one and two seeds in the playoffs.

“There’s not going to be a lot of preparations or changes in game plans. If we can come out and hit three pointers like we did, we’ll be in good shape; if not, we’ve got to change it and go inside a little more,” said head coach Rob Nielson.

The Saints took the lead early on and never gave it up. In the second half, Chemeketa showed some increased intensity, but wasn’t enough to come back. “(In the second half) We got a little hesitant and that’s something you can’t do with a team like this,” Nielson said.

The Saints were led in scoring by Scott Zea with 36 points, though he fouled out late in the second half. Jamal Cooke contributed 13 points and seven assists, and Gregg Barlow was all over the court with 12 points, 10 rebounds, and nine assists.

“I got a little worried when (Scott) Zea fouled out and I know Jamal’s (Cooke) back is sore so I just hoped that they could hang on and make a couple of shots,” said the coach.
The atmosphere was tense due to the fact that Chemeketa was the lone team to hand Mt. Hood a loss this season, and the reason why Mt. Hood was ranked second. This game could’ve been a preview for the NWAACC championship because both aren’t only the top teams in the South, but in the entire NWAACC.

Mt. Hood wrapped up a successful season with their returning sophomores Barlow, Cooke, Cory Lowe, and Zea stepping up every night. The experience of their guards has been a key to the Saints’ victories. “Some of these kids that were here last year and this year never lost a home game,” said Nielson.

There’s also some help from the freshman players like Nick Klinger. Nielson said every player at times has been played really well; he’s also commented that one of the hardest parts of coaching this team was finding game time for all the players, because there is so much talent.

"We're co-champions (in the Southern Region) for three years in a row and that doesn’t happen very much in the NWAACC, so we’re pretty proud of them, a complete accomplishment on their part.”