Walla Walla Men's Basketball Earns Split Decisions on Oregon Trip

Salem, OR - The Walla Walla Community College Men's Basketball team hit the road last week for a couple of games against South Region foes. In a rematch of a 3-point win for WWCC over Linn-Benton earlier in the season, the Roadrunners got their revenge, handing Walla Walla a loss with a score of 92-90. However, the Warriors rebounded and ended the trip on a high note with a 103-81 victory in their game against Chemeketa.

Walla Walla 90 vs. Linn-Benton 92 (Thursday, December 18)

After falling far behind a solid Linn-Benton squad at halftime 57-41, Coach Reinland's squad gave the Roadrunners everything they had to get back into the game in the second half. The Warriors got as close as having a game winning 3-point shot at the buzzer, but Drew Hottinger's attempt just missed and LBCC held on to their 2-point win. Hottinger was a big piece in Walla Walla's fight back as the sophomore finished with 23 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists. However, it was his teammate, Tanner Goldsmith, who set the scoring mark for the Warriors, finishing with 24 points on 9/11 shooting. Goldsmith also collected an astounding 17 rebounds to cap off the monster double-double. Trebor Edwards and Bennett Pegues added 15 points a piece to the WWCC scoring sheet.

Walla Walla 103 vs. Chemeketa 81 (Friday, December 19)

The Warriors showed no signs of a slow start in the back half of their trip as they jumped out to a 52-31 halftime lead over Chemeketa, en route to a 103-81 victory. Walla Walla finished 33/56 (58.9%) from the field and made 15/33 3-point attempts to outpace the Storm. Jake Curtis had a career night, finishing with a career high 25 points, including making all 8 of his free throw attempts, to lead the way for WWCC. He would also add 13 rebounds to his stat line to lock up the double-double. 5 other Warriors found themselves in double figures at the end of the game: Josh Byers (14), Trebor Edwards (13), Tanner Goldsmith (13), Braden Sherrill (13), and Drew Hottinger (10). The team's 58.9% shooting effort in the game was a season-high in shooting efficiency for the 2025-26 Warriors squad.

What's next?

Walla Walla will get a couple of days off for the holidays before picking right back up at the Clif Wegner Memorial Invitational, hosted by Clackamas Community College on December 27-29. The Warriors will play three games against Clackamas, Mt. Hood, and Edmonds respectively in what will be their final games prior to the beginning of East Region play.