Mount Hood handles VYCC men in NWAACC Tournament

KENNEWICK — When day four of the NWAACC basketball tournament arrives, the outcomes aren’t necessarily decided based on talent.

The winner is often the team that simply has a little more gas left in the tank.

That proved to be the case for Yakima Valley’s men, who were unable to muster much offensively, and couldn’t find an answer for Mount Hood big man Spencer Clayton.

Clayton scored a game-high 26 points, and the Yaks shot just 36 percent from the field in falling 73-60 to the Saints in the game for fifth and sixth place Tuesday at the Toyota Center.

“We just couldn’t get anything going,” said YVCC coach Ray Funk, adding that his team expended a lot of energy in Monday’s trophy-securing victory over Spokane. “On day four … it’s often a battle of who has how much left in the tank.”

Tuesday, that was Mount Hood, which shot 47 percent from the field, led by Clayton.

The 6-foot-9 big man made 13 of 17 shots, including several dunks on fastbreak opportunities.

“I thought he was kind of slow, but then I watched him running past our guys,” Funk said.

Clayton also had 12 rebounds, three blocked shots and two steals.

Marcus Moore added 14 points, hitting 4 of 9 3-pointers, and Curtis Papenfuss had 13 points for Mount Hood.

Despite its cold shooting, Yakima Valley was still within striking distance, trailing by just six points with about 4 minutes to play, but the Yaks (19-12) couldn’t quite make up the rest of the deficit.

“We just couldn’t get over the hump,” said Funk, who nonetheless considered his team’s tournament run a success, including victories over top-ranked Clark College, and a Spokane team that won the East Region and had beaten the Yaks three straight times before Monday.

“Overall, with all the ups and downs we had, we played well,” Funk said.

Dabrail Henton led the Yaks with 14 points and four assists, while Cameron Jensen added 13 points and four assists, and Amir Royal had 11 points and a team-best nine rebounds.

Reserve guard Jalon Flowers also provided a spark, Funk said, with nine points five rebounds and four steals.

YAKIMA VALLEY — Diggs 0-4 0-0 0, Battle 0-4 0-0 0, Royal 5-10 1-2 11, Martinez 2-3 0-0 4, Bagby 0-0 0-0 0, Molina 3-6 3-4 9, Henton 5-16 3-4 14, Jensen 5-10 0-0 13, Romero 0-3 0-0 0, Flowers 4-10 0-2 9. Totals 24-66 7-12 60.

MOUNT HOOD — Johnson 2-4 1-1 5, Queen 1-5 0-0 2, Orth 0-1 0-0 0, Moore 5-12 0-0 14, Papenfuss 6-11 1-1 13, Rivers 2-12 0-0 6, Mitchell 3-6 1-2 7, Clayton 13-17 0-3 26. Totals 32-68 3-7 73.

Halftime—Mt. Hood 44, Yakima Valley 30. 3-Point goals—Yakima Valley 5-23 (Jensen 3-6, Flowers 1-4, Henton 1-7, Molina 0-1, Battle 0-2, Royal 0-3), Mt. Hood 6-24 (Moore 4-9, Rivers 2-9, Orth 0-1, Johnson 0-2, Queen 0-3). Fouled out—None. Rebounds—Yakima Valley 31 (Royal 9), Mt. Hood 39 (Clayton 12, Mitchell 8). Assists—Yakima Valley 16 (Henton 4, Jensen 4), Mt. Hood 22 (Johnson 14). Steals—Yakima Valley 7 (Flowers 4), Mt. Hood 7 (Johnson 2, Clayton 2). Turnovers—Yakima Valley 13, Mt. Hood 16. Total fouls—Yakima Valley 10, Mt. Hood 13.