The Mt. Hood Community College men’s basketball team ended their season on a winning note, grabbing three straight victories and claiming fifth place at the NWAACC Championship Tournament.

Sophomore guard Gregg Barlow was named to the All-Tournament Team and was also honored as the NWAACC Southern Region Most Valuable Player for the 2004-2005 season.

Forward Scott Zea and guard Jamal Cooke were named to the Southern Region first team, forward/center Corey Lowe was named to the second team and guard Nick Klinger was selected for the Southern Region All-Freshman team.

The Saints’ first-round loss to Pierce College put them in the consolation bracket, whose eventual champion claims a fifth-place trophy. The decision to move forward from the loss and try to win that fifth-place trophy wasn’t immediate, according to coach Rob Nielson.
"It was tough for the guys, because they had really been gearing up for the tournament," said the coach. "We played and lost early that first day and had time to hang out and talk about it for a while afterwards, whether we were going to pack it up and head home or keep playing and try and show what we could do."

The Saints played the Treasure Valley Chukars in the first consolation round. The game was never in question, with the Saints leading 53-34 at the half and going away to win 102-81. Jamal Cooke led all scorers with 20 points, eight assists and three steals. Barlow logged a triple double, lighting up the stat sheet with 15 points, 10 assists, 10 rebounds and four steals.

In the consolation semi-finals, the Saints faced the Everett Trojans. The Trojans hung with the Saints through the first half, which ended with the Saints up 50-45. The second half belonged to the Saints. They shot over 70 percent from the field to win 109-86, the highest point total of any team in the tournament.

Nielson said, "We know that we’re a good team, and after that first game we started to show it. We played really well in the rest of the games."

The consolation final was against the Saints’ Southern Region co-champions, the Chemeketa Storm, who had also been knocked from contention in the first round. This was the fourth time these teams had met this season and the third in 11 days. The Saints led by 17 points at the half, then hung on to win 78-65. Barlow led all scorers with 24 points, seven rebounds and two steals. Cooke followed with 22 points, six rebounds and three steals.

"It was a great win, but it was a bittersweet one," said the coach. "We wanted to get another shot at Chemeketa at the tournament but we had hoped it would be for the NWAACC title."