Men’s basketball gears up for league game

By Nicole Donner

With only two wins in their pre-season, the MHCC’s men’s basketball team isn’t letting a few losses get them down.

The team has celebrated victories against Great Falls (76-64) and Grays Harbor (90-81), but have also suffered losses to Walla Walla (86-78), Big Bend (95-85), Snow Badgers (75-64) and Bellevue (87-79). Jake Glisson, who plays guard/forward, said it’s good that they lose a few games in the beginning to build the overall morale of the team.

“We don’t play a lot of defense. We just shoot a lot,” said Glisson. “We’re losing to good teams, we kind of just [have to see] what talent is out there.”

A graduate from Sam Barlow High School, Glisson hopes this year will be like his many previous years in basketball. He said his team in high school was undefeated during his junior and senior year. His first year at MHCC also went undefeated and won Southern Region. He said he enjoys playing over break because he gets a lot more rest without the stresses of homework and classes.

The team has played in numerous tournaments so far this year including one in Walla Walla, Wash., and another in Ephraim, Utah, over Thanksgiving break. While in Utah, the team stayed with Coach Rob Neilson’s relatives and ate their Thanksgiving dinner together.

“It’s hard playing on the road and not being at home but we have a really tough schedule so that’s why it’s hard too,” said gaurd/forward Lloyd Noble.

This year marks the first year Noble has played for MHCC but he is not a stranger to community college basketball teams. Noble is a recent transfer from Portland Community College. He said his reasons for transferring here are he wants to go undefeated in league play and he “wanted to win.”

During the break, the team is hoping to build up their play and work together as a team on the court. Tyson Papenfuss, guard/forward for the team, said that can happen through long road trips and drives.

“Right now we’re trying to come together as a team. We played a lot of weird games,” said Papenfuss. “Even though our record isn’t that great right now, our main goal is to come together.”

Papenfuss played his first season on the team in 2004 and left for Brazil for two years before coming back to MHCC to complete his second season. He said he looks forward to playing Clackamas because a coach he had in high school now coaches for their team. He looks forward to meeting him out on the court at their game on Jan. 10.

“That’s definitely a game marked on my calendar,” said Papenfuss.

As the rest of the school heads into winter break, the team is going to continue to practice and stay on top of their game for the match against Umpqua on Jan. 6. However, Glisson is looking forward to going head to head with MHCC’s rivals Clackamas and Chemeteka. He said Clackamas has a lot of big players, including one making his comeback from knee surgery, but MHCC players are optimistic about their game.

“Right now, we’re kind of changing everything. We kind of all got thrown in together,” said Glissan. “So we’re changing up how we’re playing this season. We have a lot talent this year but we’re all individuals. [We need to] bond as a team.”

Along with the practice, the team will attend two more tournaments over the three-week break. They will travel to Pasco, Wash. , for the annual Columbia Basin Crossover Tournament Dec. 15-17 where they will compete against several teams such as Highline, Tacoma and Linn-Benton. Shortly after Christmas, the team will once again pack their bags to head up to Victoria, BC, Canada, for a tournament at Victoria Camosun College from Dec. 28-30.

The team’s first league game is against Umpqua in Roseburg Jan. 6 at 6 p.m