The Cougars tighten up the playoff chase with three games left in the regular season.
OREGON CITY The Mt. Hood Community College mens basketball team went cold down the stretch and suffered an 80-72 loss at Clackamas CC on Wednesday night.
Neither team could pull away by more than a few baskets until Clackamas put on a surge down the stretch, dominated by second-chance points. Parkrose High graduate Jordan Mosby-Barber set the stage with putbacks on back-to-back possessions, highlighted when he snatched a missed 3-point try above the rim and put it in off the glass before his feet touched the ground.
We turned our effort up a notch, Barber said. It definitely made a difference. You get those offensive boards and the entire team feeds off that energy.
The Cougars continued to attack the glass with Kirby Hawkins crashing inside to put a missed 3 over the front of the rim, extending the lead to 69-63 as the clock rolled under two minutes.
Clackamas used the full shot clock on its next trip down court before hoisting a shot that clipped the rim. But once again, it was the Cougars who came down with the ball. This time, Brock Lutes reached over the top of a Mt. Hood player to pull down the board forcing the Saints into fouling with less than a minute on the clock.
The Cougars went 9-for-10 (.900), and grabbed the rebound on their only miss from the line.
The win pulls Clackamas (5-6) into a tie with Mt. Hood for fifth place in the South Region both trailing Portland CC (6-5) by a single game in the chase for the final playoff berth.
View extended game coverage, including a breakdown of the playoff chase, in the Friday, Feb. 15, print edition.
View a photo gallery from the game at ...
http://daveball.exposuremanager.com/g/feb13_mhcc-ccc_mens_hoops