Huge Small College Games This Week

By Greg Crawford, basketball insider @wchoops


NWAACC basketball in the states of Oregon and Washington is terrific all the time and this Saturday on the campus of Clackamas Community College should be no different.

It will be a great doubleheader when at 2:00 p.m., the women's teams of Clark and Clackamas square off, followed by the men's game at 4:00.

If you like basketball, this is a must see doubleheader.

Clark and Clackamas do not always play each other every year, so this is what makes these games special. Clark and Clackamas both have rich histories in basketball and the fact that the schools are about 30 miles apart, Clark being on the southern border of Washington and Clackamas on the northern border only spices things up a little more.

"We love playing Clark and Saturday night will be a great test for both our men and women." said Clif Wegner, the highly successful men's coach at Clackamas Community College. "We love playing pre-division games against tough teams, so having Clark in our gym is special and our players need to be ready for what should be a highly competitive game."

Head coach Al Aldridge of the Clark Penguins will bring his women's team to the CCC Oregon City campus with a 2-1 record and obviously will face a tough challenge as head coach of the Lady Cougars, as coaches Kayla Steen and Jim Martineau appear to have their usual fine team, coming into the game with a 5-0 record that includes a most recent win, winning the championship last Sunday of the annual Thanksgiving tournament, 82-81 over Umpqua.

As for the men's game, Wegner has his Cougars at 4-2 and Alex Kirk brings the Penguins in at 2-1.

This doubleheader should draw a huge crowd on Saturday, basketball games you should not miss.

**************************

In a game that probably is as rare as it gets, at least from coaching standpoint, Corban and Northwest Christian men  will open their league season at Corban on Friday with the two coaches probably having a little inside knowledge about each other.

Luke Jackson will bring his 6-2 Beacons to the Salem campus of Corban and he will be coaching against his father-in-law, Steve Matsen. Bragging rights are on the line, besides it being the league opener.

Of course Jackson is one of the five greatest players ever to play for the U of Oregon and is in his first year of coaching the Deacons. Matsen is also back as a first year coach for the Warriors, who presently own a 3-4 record.

Game time is 7:30 and it will be preceded per usual for all Cascade Collegiate Conference games with the women's game at 5:30.

Friday night, Saturday night, some great basketball in the Pacific Northwest.

You can read more of Greg Crawford at CSNNW.com and his Crawford's Court columns which appear each Tuesday and Friday, www.csnnw.com/blog/crawfords-court.

And of course these columns are always brought to you by Greg Crawford Speaks, the best training for public speaking and presenting you will ever see, of which many holiday specials are running. For more information, please go to http://gregcrawfordspeaks.weebly.com or email gregorycrawfordspeaks@gmail.com if you want to examine how you can become a better public speaker/presenter.