FINAL SCORE: Clark 91, Umpqua 66
box
In their final game prior to the start of league play, the Penguins dominated the visiting Umpqua Riverhawks on the way to a 91-66 victory. Clark improves to 7-2 on the season.
Sean Price led the way with 32 points, shooting an impressing 13 for 16 from the field. He also added nine rebounds and five assists to his stat line.
Phillip Hertz added 21 points followed by 10 from
Loris Bonneau. Chris Mock and Jared Knox led Umpqua with 11 and 10 points respectively.
The game started off quick with the two team trading baskets. With 17:21 to go in the first half, Price hit a three-pointer to put the Penguins up 11-10. As it turned out, that would be the final lead change of the evening. Over the remainder of the half, Clark gradually pulled ahead and ended the the half with a 45-28 lead. In the first half, Clark was hit six of eight three-point attempts and was 57% from the field. Umpqua was held to only 34% from the field.
Clark continued to play well at the start of the second half. Umpqua made a small run to cut the lead from 20 points to 14, but that was the closest the Riverhawks would get for the remainder of the game. The Penguins ended the game shooting 57.4% from the field.
Sean Price said “We started a little slow on defense, but then we got it together. They made a lot of shots in the beginning, and then we got our composure, got together, and the defense played a little better. And our offense was just clicking.”
Price also noted that the team made a good effort, especially
Willie Bratcher , “Everyone contributed. I want to give a shout out to Willie. He played really well. He came out had some good steals, assists and gave
us some good energy.”
Of his own performance, Price said he had room for improvement. “I could have rebounded better on the offensive end. I could have played better on help side defense. I don't worry too much about scoring.”
Head Coach
Alex Kirk thought that the game was an “opportunity for us to get back doing what we're doing. This is a team we beat prior to Christmas break, and so, looking at this game was not the score, but proving it. Hopefully that will pay dividends when it comes to league play when you have to beat teams twice.”
As the Penguins look to the start of the conference season on Wednesday at home against South Puget Sound, Kirk looks for the season to get more intense. “Now as we move into conference, everything ratchets up a notch. Teams know each other better and they scout more extensively. Now everything just has to be tighter and everyone needs to be more sure of what they are doing.”
Price thought the team “played a good pre-season. We're just going to have to prove ourselves in league play.”
The Penguins host South Puget Sound on Wednesday, January 2
nd at Skeet O'Connell Sports Center (Vancouver, WA). The women's starts at 6pm. The men's game begins at 8pm.
