Just one spot out of a playoff position, the Linn-Benton men’s basketball team remains in the hunt for an alluring postseason appearance.
The Roadrunners had their hands full with a pair of conference matchups on the road over the week, earning a hard-fought 96-90 win against Mt. Hood on Jan. 11 before falling 74-65 to Clackamas on Jan. 15.
Linn-Benton entered their match against Mt. Hood fresh off the back of a close loss at home to a tough Lane side. Motivated to right their wrongs, the Roadrunners started on the right foot, taking a 42-35 lead into halftime.
In the second half of the game, both teams put on a clinical offensive display as Linn-Benton and Mt.Hood combined for 109 points. While both teams exchanged buckets throughout the half, Linn-Benton would make good of their halftime advantage to pick up the 96-90 win.
Despite both sides having nearly the same number of free throws, turnovers, and rebounds, the deciding factor on the night would be shooting. The Roadrunners outshot Mt.Hood from the field by 59.7% to 42.1%, including a vast difference in three-pointer percentage of 61.5% to 33.3%.
Guard Liam Spencer led the team with 24 points, while freshman Eli Lerman recorded 9 assists. Jackson Oglesby grabbed a team-best 9 rebounds, and Trey Kim finished the match with 3 steals.
With the win in the bag, Linn-Benton turned their attention to their mid-week matchup against Clackamas.
For the first 12 minutes of the match, almost nothing could split the Roadrunners and the Cougars. Both teams seemed headed for a deadlock at the break, with the score favoring Clackamas 23-22 with a little over eight minutes left in the first half.
However, Clackamas would be the first team to find some separation, going on a 15-9 run to close the half. Trailing 31-38 at the half, the Roadrunners battled hard in the opening minutes of the second half to cut into the Cougars lead.
Despite their efforts, the closest Linn-Benton would get to completing the comeback would be at 47-41 with a little less than 16 minutes left in the game. With the Roadrunners within six points of the Cougars’ lead, Clackamas would find their second wind and carry the momentum throughout the rest of the game.
Clackamas extended their lead to 11 and would never look back, closing the match with a 74-65 win over Linn-Benton. Spencer and freshman Mykah Mendoza led the Roadrunners with 15 points apiece. Lerman again led the team in assists, recording 6, while Kim brought down 11 rebounds.
The results left Linn-Benton with an overall record of 7-10 and a conference record of 2-2. The Roadrunners will look to turn their fortunes around in their next match as they take on Clark at home. The game will take place next Monday, Jan. 20, with a tip-off time of 7:30 p.m.
