PASCO -- In the rough-and-tumble region of community college basketball known as the NWAACC East, you do what you have to in order to get the victory.
For the Columbia Basin College men's and women's teams on Saturday in Pasco, that meant getting just enough clutch plays down the stretch for both Hawks teams to beat a pair of scrappy squads from Blue Mountain.
The CBC women defeated Blue Mountain 78-71, as the top-ranked Hawks raised their East record to 3-0, 15-1 overall.
The CBC men, meanwhile, used some strong inside play from 6-foot-7 forward Daniel Igbinoba to hold off the Timberwolves 72-65. The Hawks, now 2-1 in the East and 6-8 overall, are tied for first in the region with five other teams.
Saturday's games were the first at home for CBC in over a month.
For the CBC women, it was a chance to show the hometown fans their newest standout in Jennifer Noon. The 5-10 post from Central Point, Ore., is listed as a freshman. But this is actually her second season of college ball.
"She was at Lewis-Clark State last season, but she didn't get to play," said CBC women's coach Cheryl Holden. "Someone told her she should come to CBC."
Holden is glad she did, as Noon had a breakout game with 39 points and seven rebounds against Blue Mountain.
"Only once have I scored more points," Noon said. "I had 42 in high school. I was just in the right place at the right time today. All the credit goes to my teammates finding me."
Holden said it's taken Noon eight games to start feeling comfortable.
"We use her inside and out," said Holden. "They went to a zone defense and we just moved her out on the perimeter."
Blue Mountain, down 15 at one point, bounced back on the strength of Stephanie Lopez's 28 points and 17 more from Chanel Cambronero.
Noon hammered four treys in the game -- one of those coming with 3:25 to play and snapping a 66-all tie.
But Noon needed some help down the stretch, and that came in the form of sophomore Tiffany Idler, a Columbia-Burbank graduate.
Idler picked up a loose ball and sank a jumper, swished a couple of free throws, and forced a few turnovers over the final 3 minutes as the Hawks outscored the Timberwolves 12-5 in that timespan.
Idler finished with a double-double of 16 points and 14 rebounds. She also had five steals.
That meant a lot for CBC, as the team is missing guard Andrea Bland -- who injured her knee Thursday in practice. Holden said an MRI needs to be done to see what damage there is.
"It'll definitely be hard for us if she can't play," said Idler. "But we're a team. Somebody else will have to step it up."
That's what Igbinoba did for the CBC men.
His 12 points didn't lead the Hawks -- Chiawana grad Stephan Walter's 17 points paced the team -- but Igbinoba's 14 rebounds set the tone inside.
"(CBC coach Rolando Garcia) is pushing us to dominate inside more -- change the culture," said Igbinoba, a Cheney High grad.
Garcia agrees.
"I'm a big believer in getting the ball inside," Garcia said. "And if there's no shot, kick it back out. That's a good shot."
And the Hawks needed a few of those outside shots at the end of the game to win.
The game had gone back and forth, with five lead changes and five times it was tied.
Blue Mountain's Gavin Burt sank a 3-point shot with 6:42 left in the game to knot things one more time at 56-all.
But a 7-0 CBC run followed -- an Igbinoba layup; a Walter layup set up with a fancy dish from fellow Chiawana grad Justin Smith; and finally a nice trey from Smith himself -- and the Hawks were never threatened again.
Smith finished with 13 points, with three treys, while Eugene HeavyRunner added 10 points.
It doesn't get any easier next week, as the Hawks travel to Wenatchee Valley on Wednesday and play host to Yakima Valley next Saturday.
"Our region schedule is the toughest part of our season," said Holden.
Garcia agrees. That's why he's happy with the 2-1 start, which included a victory to open East Region play last Saturday in Walla Walla.
"It was basically a statement that it's a competitive region," Garcia said. "We were fortunate that Walla Walla wasn't shooting well that day. But we have some resiliency, and we're competetive."
CBC men 72, BMCC 65
BLUE MOUNTAIN -- Burt 2-10 0-0 6, Johnson 1-2 1-2 4, Hermann 1-6 0-0 3, Kyle Davis 11-15 2-3 24, Strand 3-11 5-8 11, Walker 5-9 2-2 15, Glasheen 0-1 0-0 0, Adams 0-0 0-0 0, Peisner 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 24-56 10-15 65.
COLUMBIA BASIN -- Jones 0-0 0-0 0, Barbaza 1-6 0-0 3, Stephen Walter 7-13 2-4 17, HeavyRunner 4-5 0-0 10, Smith 5-10 0-2 13, De La Garza 3-8 0-0 6, Schrank 1-4 1-2 4, Ponce 1-3 0-0 2, Igbinoba 4-7 4-8 12, Douglas 1-4 3-7 5, Haynes 0-0 0-0 0, Bolt 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-60 10-23 72.
Halftime-- CBC 35, BM 35. 3-point goals--BM 7-17 (Burt 2-6, Johnson 1-1, Hermann 1-3, Davis 0-1, Strand 0-1, Walker 3-5), CBC 8-20 (Barbaza 1-3, Walter 1-4, HeavyRunner 2-3, Smith 3-5, De La Garza 0-1, Schrank 1-3, Ponce 0-1). Rebounds--BM 33 (Strand 9), CBC 43 (Igbinoba 14). Assists--BM 12, CBC 14 (De La Garza 5). Turnovers--BM 14, CBC 16. Fouls--BM 17, CBC 15.
CBC women 78, Blue Mt. 71
BLUE MTN -- Cambronero 6-20 1-2 17, Stephanie Lopez 12-27 4-7 28, Telles 2-3 3-6 7, McIntyre 3-5 0-0 6, Harrington 3-4, 2-2 9, Stover 0-0 0-0 0, Weaver 0-0 0-0 0, Saavedra 0-0 0-0 0, McKay 2-2 0-1 4, Rominger 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 28-62 10-18 71.
CBC -- Jimenez 4-11 1-2 11, Samuels 3-7 0-3 6, Young 2-4 0-1 4, Idler 4-14, 6-10 16, Jennifer Noon 13-28 9-9 39, Strom 0-0 0-0 09, Avery-Winchester 1-2 0-0 2, Molsbarger 0-1 0-0 0, Reynolds 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 28-67 16-22 78.
Halftime-- CBC 40-30. 3-point goals--BM 5-15 (Cambronero 4-12, Lopez 0-1, Rominger 0-1, Harrington 1-1), CBC 6-21 (Noon 4-10, Jimenez 2-7, Samuels 0-3, Molsbarger 0-1). Rebounds--BM 38 (Lopez 11), CBC 41 (Idler 14). Assists--BM 9 (Cambronero 3, Lopez 3, Harrington 3), CBC 16 (Samuels 8). Turnovers--BM 18, CBC 14. Fouls--BM 17, CBC 16. Fouled out--Telles.
