The Linn-Benton basketball teams played spoiler on Clark College’s Hall of Fame Night with a pair of NWAC South region victories Saturday at the O’Connell Sports Complex in Vancouver.
MEN: LINN-BENTON 86, CLARK 64 — Parker Gaddis scored 18 points and had six assists and five rebounds for the Penguins (12-8, 4-5 NWAC South), which had a two-game win streak snapped.
Comillion Smith came off the bench for Clark to score 12 points. Sethon Moore added 11 points, and Tyler Fernstrom had 10 points and a team-high seven rebounds.
There were only two lead changes in the game, and they were early. Linn-Benton (12-8, 6-3) assumed the lead for good at 10-9.
Clark shot 45 percent from the field to Linn-Benton’s 53 percent.
The Roadrunners, which swept the season series, also got 22 points off turnovers.
The loss drops the Penguins two games out of playoff position as the second half of the season is under way.
WOMEN: LINN-BENTON 65, CLARK 57 — Mahrysa Thomas scored 18 points and had nine rebounds, but the Penguins fell short against the Roadrunners.
Alexus Hunter had 11 points, six rebounds, three assists and three steals for Clark (4-16, 2-7), and Payton Wangler had 10 points.
Clark led 23-15 after the first quarter, but Linn-Benton recovered to take a three-point lead into halftime at 37-34.
The Penguins would get down by as many as 12 points in the third quarter and then rally back to take the lead at 49-48 with 1:46 to play in the quarter.
Linn-Benton gained back the lead for good on a pair of free throws with 58 seconds to play in the third.
UP NEXT
Clark plays at Portland on Wednesday, and then at Lane next Saturday.
Clark Athletics Hall of Fame Night
Honorees in the Class of 2019 are Brenda Bessner, women’s track and field (1989-90); Janie Hogan-Corbett, women’s basketball (1991-93); and the back-to-back NWAC champion men’s golf teams from 1981 and 1982.
Bessner was NWAC shot put and javelin champion in 1989, the javelin champion in 1990, and still holds the Clark records in those events.
Hogan-Corbett was on the 1993 NWAC championship women’s basketball team that was also the first to go undefeated (33-0) in NWAC history. She was a first-team all-league and all-tournament selection after leading the league in scoring and rebounding.
Members of the 1981 NWAC champion golf team were Kevin Antolock, Greg Brown, Jeff Coad, Eric Degerman, Ian Harper, and Glen Hueser. The 1982 champion team included Antolock, Mike Burch, Coad, Degerman, Tim Gilberg, and Todd Quigley. Both teams were coached by Skeet O’Connell.
