#9 Clipper Men’s Basketball Ends Regular Season With Big Win Over #3 Ranked Green River

The Clipper Men's Basketball team won their final game of the season against the top team in the West Region in a close 74-72 match against the Green River Gators.

"This time of year, you just got to find a way and I think we've done a better job of finishing games lately than we did early on in conference," said Clipper Men's Basketball Head Coach Zach Smith. "I'm really proud of our sophomores for stepping up and finishing that game. You always want momentum going into the postseason […] It's huge for us and huge for morale."

In a game that essentially had no bearing on the standings, as the Clippers were locked into the #3 seed and the Gators were crowned champions of the West, the Clips still played this game with the intensity of a game with everything on the line.

The first half was all Clippers as they came out strong on both sides of the ball. The Clips were tough in their perimeter defense, forcing the Gators into shots from deep, and holding them into a 22% efficiency from beyond the three-point line and a 34% field goal percentage overall. Meanwhile, on the other side of the ball, the Clippers' starting five provided most of the offense in the quarter with 31 of their 38 first-half points coming from Jeremiah Lewis, Caleb Bowden, Alex Tichenor, Jamaal Elliott, and Jack Mack.

The second half was a different story as the Gators came out and flexed muscle, showing why they are the West Region champions. The Clippers shot well overall in the second half, but Green River was sticking with them for the entirety of the period. At the midway point of the half, the Clips had an 8-point lead over the Gators but slowly saw that lead decrease as the Gators were nipping at their heels.

Some bad turnovers and missed free throws by the Clippers gave the Gators an opportunity to, at the very least, tie the game with less than a minute remaining. However, the team was able to close out the game and score a gutsy victory against Green River.

Caleb Bowden led the team with 19 points for the night and all the starters, save for Alex Tichenor, ended the night with double-digit points. Mack ended the night with a double-double for the game with 12 points and 10 boards, with four assists and two steals to boot.

With the regular season over, the outgoing sophomores gave themselves a proper sendoff managing a key win against a very tough opponent to gain momentum as they head to Pasco for the NWAC Basketball Championships. There they will face a familiar foe in the Southwestern Oregon (SWOCC) Lakers, the team that knocked them out of the tournament last season.

When asked about his thoughts about facing off against the Lakers once again, Coach Smith said that he wasn't thinking about last year's results. He was focusing on the now. "We haven't played them at all this year, I haven't seen a ton," said Smith. "My plan is to spend my afternoon watching some film and getting ready for that game."

The Clippers will take on the SWOCC Lakers in the Sweet 16 game of the NWAC Basketball Championships on March 4, 2026 at 6 pm in Pasco. All games will be held at Holden Court on Columbia Basin College's main campus.