Walla Walla Community College could not bounce back from a 13-0 Mt. Hood run to start the second half, and the Warriors suffered their first loss of the season as Mt. Hood claimed the pre-season men’s basketball win with a 96-91 win here at the Dietrich Dome Saturday.
“Mt. Hood is a very good team,” Warriors coach Jeff Reinland said. “We have to find a way to play better defense. Offensively, 91 points is good. We had some impatient possessions.
“The 13-0 run to open the second half, things didn’t go our way,” Reinland continued. “We cut the lead to 3 at the end and had to foul.”
The Warriors (2-1 record) had four double digit scorers led by Caulin Bakalarski’s 29.
Landon Radliff added 17, Gabe Porter scored 16 and handed out six assists. Dalton Thompson posted a double-double for the Warriors with 12 points and 11 rebounds.
“I was more encouraged tonight than I was from our two previous wins,” Reinland added. “I saw a lot of positives.”
On Friday, the Warriors almost let a 25-point lead melt away, but they refocused and defeated a Gonzaga Club team 91-83.
“We were up 25 with five minutes left,” Reinalnd commented. “We lost our focus and thought the game was over.”
Gabe Porter led the way for the Warriors with 29 points. Radliff added 23 as the Warriors hung on to a 56-35 advantage at intermission to claim the eight-point win.
WWCC travels to Bellevue for a non-conference battle with Pearce at 5 on Friday.
