Image provided by: Clackamas Community College; Oregon City, OR
About The Clackamas print. (Oregon City, Oregon) 1989-2019 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 12, 2000)
_____________________ _? TI he CI ac I camas P rìnt WEÓNEsdAy, J anuary 12, 2000 Tom Lenox, a freshman guard from Molalla, puts on the press against a Portland Panther during Clackamas' 100-84 victory. Clackamas rolls, wins 11 of 14 MANDY GOOD Sports Editor The Clackamas Cougars stayed one step ahead of Portland’s performance on the Jan. 5th game in Portland’s home gym. “We out-played them slightly in about every area—we shot better, handled the ball better and out rebounded them,” said Head Coach Cliff Wegner. The game started strong straight off the bench and clinched the sixth-game winning streak out of seven games played. “Our depth was really far su perior. We out-scored them off the bench 54 to 10,” said Wegner. Dallas Husak came off of the bench and scored 22 points. Tom Lenox also came off the bench and displayed his out standing skills. By halftime the Cougars had a confident lead of 13 points. “We came up very flat in the second half, so we benched all five of the starters. The second team came in and played very well and got the lead up to about 15 points,” said Wegner. Wegner noted that the players that are coming in off the bench to play are playing with a lot more confidence, which added to the strength of the team. “Tom Lenox is coming into the game and just shooting the ball and relaxing, Wes Jennings is playing well off of the bench, and Nate Block is coming in off the bench looking superior,” ex plained Wegner. Much of the success of the game is attributed to the post players' skills. The players have proven, and will continue to prove, their strong role in the team. “I think that we have the best post kids in the league, which includes Nate Block, Wes Jennings, Jered Gritters, Chris Lohrey and Dallas Husak. Al though we still need to prove it when we play,” said Wegner. The final score of the game was 100-84, and ended in a Cou garwin. “When the starters came back into the game, they played very hard and we finished the game off right,” said Wegner. On Saturday, Jan. 8, the Cou gars played Linn-Benton in their second away game of the week. The team got up early in the game with a score of 20 to 8 and went on to win 88-66. “We got a nice early lead by going to the inside and rebound ing and playing very good de fense,” said Wegner. By halftime, the Cougars were still leading the game 35 to 22. Linn-Benton continued to play hard and got back into the game in the second half. The score was brought down to a ten-point spread. “They made a furious rally; they didn’t shoot very well all night, but they had a streak where they hit about five out of eight three’s,” said Wegner. An obstacle that Linn Benton had to face was Cougar player Nate Block. “Nate stepped up and looked like a man among boys, they just could not guard him,” said. Chevis Thompson, a freshman guard from Denver, CO, tip toes on the endline as he tries to stay in bounds against PCC. JOHN THORBURN / Clackamas Print Wegner. In the second half of the game, Block was dominating the court. His ball-handling skills were a factor in the team's overall per formance. “In the second half of the game, every time he touched the ball he either made a lay-in or got to the free-throw line,” said Wegner. Point Guard Kyle Bracy was an other strong force for the Cougars. “Kyle Bracy did a fabulous job running the ball—he played 35 minutes and only had one turn over. As a point guard, 3 to 4 turnovers is pretty good for play ing that amount of time,” said Wegner. The effort was outstanding due to the time and the competi tion. The Cougars continued to play well even as Linn-Benton rallied against them. “We settled down and got our composure and finished the game winning by 22 points,” said JOHN THORBURN / Clackamas Print Wegner. The Cougars are off to a good start, winning the first two out of four road games. They face a tough situation with four straight road games. “We were away both games last week, we’re away both games this week. Ifwejust get through those games 4-0 or 3-1, then I think that we will be in good shape. Then we have 6 out of 7 games at home and we play very well at home,” said Wegner. Don't tell Cal schools that Pac-10 power lies in the Northwest O regon football fans need to start opening their eyes to the Pacific-10 and its state today. From the Editor’s desk.». For years, the Pac-10 Conference has been synonymous with excel lence. For the past two seasons, however, the level of talent and play has been mediocre at best. The result? A major loss of respect. Why has this happened? It’s a simple answer. In 1991, the University of Wash ington Huskies dominated college football—winning a share of the national title with Miami, thrusting school into national power sta tus and ul- t i m a t e 1 y showing a changing of the guard from California school dominance in the confer ence. What happened next? The “Pac- 10” cut the Huskies down at the knees, unleashing huge penalties for small sanctions brought against the team for violations. The Pac-10 doesn’t like Wash ington. The Pac-10 is comprised of the For years, Washington was in four state schools from Oregon and creasing the number of top recruits Washington plus four universities that it pulled from the Gold State’s from California and two from Ari backyards. zona. For decades, dominance has What were the penalties im resided among posed? Loss of those six : ..... , recruits and no ..... ;................... ..........■.... ■' schools. In the bowl eligibility. past 10 years, ...the Ducks are This spells a loss however, some of interest for going to start of the best foot Washington attracting more of ball has been when young play played by the ers make their that big talent... Northwest col choice of college. leges. When the When team Cal schools tried members of the to shift that UCLA football power back down south, the con team broke federal and state laws ference was weakened severely. last season, what happened? Noth The problem that existed be ing. tween California schools and In recent years, Oregon football, Washington was recruiting. namely the Ducks, have increas ingly gained respect because they’re playing good football. How long do you think the “Pac-10” is going to allow this to go on? The University of Oregon is building an image of a great foot ball program. With the California schools showing nothing better than .500 level play, the Ducks are going to start attracting more of that big talent away from those schools. What would happen next? Washington is returning to dominance. Oregon is increas ingly getting stronger. Oregon State is back on the college foot ball map. Great football doesn’t lie within the Pacific-10 confer ence. It certainly doesn’t lie within the “Pac-6.” .
