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Saints flounder in Storm despite early season beatdown
Jon Fuccillo
The Advocate
The Saints men’s basketball team ended its regular season with an 85-83 loss Wednesday night against the third-ranked Chemeketa Storm in Salem.
After claiming a 12-point lead at the half, 44-32, the Saints went south in their scoring threat. The Storm outscored the Saints 53-39 after intermission. According to forward Jamar Johnson, the team came out flat and weren’t ready to play in the second half.
“I would like to blame it on bad calls but that wasn’t the case. We didn’t come out ready to play in the second half and the scoring showed that. We played bad defense and we didn’t handle the ball well,” said Johnson.
The Saints ended the game with 19 turnovers, including 13 between point guard Earl Jones and shooting guard Michael Wohlers.
“I’m just glad we got these two bad back-to-back games out of the way,” said Johnson. “Our main focus is NWAACCs and we need to adjust and be ready. We need to forget about these last two games and move on.”
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With the second seed in the Southern Region, an 11-3 record in conference and 20-6 overall, the Saints will play the third-ranked Olympic Rangers from the Northern Region in the first round of the NWAACCs in Kennewick, Wash., Thursday at 8 a.m.
Against Chemeketa, the Saints had five players in double digits in the losing effort. Earl Jones led the Saints with 19 points and four assists. Forward Jeremy Jones scored 13 points and center Chris Weitzel chipped in with 11 points and seven rebounds. The Storm held Wohlers to seven points; he only connected 3 of 11 from the field.
On Saturday night, the Saints spoiled a guaranteed NWAACCs berth for the Linn-Benton Roadrunners with a two-point victory, 79-77 in Albany.
Earl Jones, who ended the game with 10 points and seven assists in 40 minutes of action, said the team owes the victory to Johnson because of his offensive performance down the stretch. Johnson ended with a game high 25 points. “Linn-Benton didn’t have an answer for Jamar (Johnson),” said Jones.
“We just gave him the ball and he would either score or get fouled. He stepped up big for us and we got the win because of his play making ability. He deserves all the credit for the win.”
This wasn’t quite the same game as the first match-up against Linn-Benton on Jan. 28 when the Saints won big on their home court by 27 points.
Head coach Rob Nielson said his team had trouble focusing for the Linn-Benton game following an emotional victory against Clackamas three days earlier. “The emotional high we had from the victory over the Cougars was tough to respond to and Linn-Benton is playing for a playoff spot, so they were playing for their lives.”
The Saints struggled to get shots up all game long and only attempted 58 field goals. The Saints shot only 50 percent from the free throw line 16 of 32. Johnson shot 11 of 16 from the line and free throws were the difference in the two-point victory.
Roadrunners Head Coach Randy Falk said his team had fewer turnovers compared to their first meeting with the Saints, which helped keep the game close.
“We understood the need to take care of the ball,” said Falk. “We had significantly fewer turnovers this time around. Fewer turnovers led to fewer possessions for the Saints. We had a lot of intensity for this game. We understood a win over the Saints would guarantee us a spot in the NWAACCs.”
Jones said the victory was sloppy but he was happy to continue the seven-game win streak. “The Roadrunners played with more intensity than us,” he said. “They needed the win to help themselves out for a shot to make the NWAACCs. We almost slipped up and gave them a win.”
Wohlers ended the game with 19 points, connecting 3 of 6 from behind the arc. Forward Cody Mortenson chipped in with six points and a team-best 10 rebounds.
“The Saints are a very good team,” said Falk. “They have a very balanced team. This team will present problems for other teams in terms of match-ups. They have very good three-point shooters and a strong inside attack. They run the floor well. They will go far in NWAACCs.”
The Roadrunners were led on offense by forward Tyson Christie, who ended the game with his first double-double of the season: 17 points and 10 rebounds. Christie has been the leader of the Roadrunners for the past two years and averages 14.6 points per game.
Last year the Saints fell short of making the postseason after finishing in fifth place and this year’s tournament will be Nielson’s last chance at an NWAACC title.
“That would be the pinnacle,” said Nielsen, who announced last week he would step down as head coach at the end of this season. “Having to leave isn’t very fun but under the circumstances, if we can win a championship that would be a great statement and an even better way to go out.”