The Clipper Men's Basketball is on an absolute tear right now as they have now won 10 straight games, have reached 20 wins in the season, are undefeated at 9-0 in conference play, and sit atop the No. 1 seed in the West Region. The Clipper Nation is riding a high that they have not felt since MBB went 23-9 in 2019-2020, but Head Coach Zach Smith is not letting these accomplishments go to the heads of his coaching staff or his team.
"When you're having success, you're winning games, and you're in a position with a target on your back, it can be easy to take a deep breath and get complacent. When you get complacent is when you get beat and you lose respect for winning and you lose your completive edge," said Coach Smith about the mentality he is instilling in the team with the hot streak they're on.
Coach Smith continued, "It's easy to play hard when you're the underdog because nobody expects anything of you. But if we can instill this in our guys, this 'stay paranoid' and underdog mentality, hopefully the goal is that nobody catches us sleeping and we're always on top of our game."
That isn't to say that Coach Smith is diminishing the team's accomplishments so far, because he does recognize that what the team is building so far has been exactly what they had worked this hard for. But, in the same breath, he said that the team has loftier goals they are striving for and, as a lot of the student-athletes have mentioned, the job isn't done yet.
"We work so hard at this and our coach always instills consistency and keeping that chip on our shoulder. [The coaches] imply we haven't done anything yet. So, that's what keeps us going and keeps that target on our necks. Every single team wants to beat us and every team gives us their best," said Sophomore Forward Ket Thor after the Clips' close 59-52 away win against Tacoma.
The game against Tacoma was not a pretty one, but it was a win nonetheless for MBB. Coach Smith admitted that the team had a bit of a slow start — only scoring 5 points in the first 10 minutes — but were rescued by their resilient defense, who were able to get some key stops and steals that led to transition points and got the team going.
Overall, neither team shot the ball well, with both teams shooting under 36% from the field. However, as Coach Smith mentioned, the transition points and points from turnovers were the key factor in the win, with the Clippers winning both those battles (11-6 on points off turnovers and 20-4 on fastbreak points).
After a tough game in Tacoma, the Clips came back home to Olympia take on Grays Harbor. From the jump, the Clippers got off to a big lead and never let the foot off the pedal as they cruised to a dominating 93-45 win against the Chokers. MBB shot 49% from the field and 37% from beyond the three-point line, and had big performances from Nehemiah Pollard (20 points), Caleb Bowden (15 points), and Cameron Lawson (14 points).
"We're flowing right now," said Freshman Point Guard Alex Tichenor. "We don't want to lose the streak we're on and we want to stay in this rhythm. It just helps and we know we have two big games that we need coming up."
With the win against Grays Harbor, MBB has secured 20 wins for the season, something that hasn't been accomplished since the 2019-2020 season. A big part of that 20-win team was Anthony Braggs Jr., who is now in his first year as an assistant coach at SPSCC.
"It starts with Zach and Wade, obviously. They brought me in and they know me, in my perspective in trying to get [a championship] as I've been through it," said Braggs Jr. about coaching at his alma mater. "I know it's hard to win conference games and it's hard to win 20 wins. But being around the program, it's good for their view as the guys ask me questions all the time and trying to learn from me. It's been awesome and it's really nice to see the success being built again here."
The Clipper Men's Basketball team hits the road on Wednesday, Feb. 12 to take on Highline before finishing the week with a trip to Longview to face-off against heated rival Lower Columbia on Saturday, Feb. 15. For more information, be sure to visit www.spsccathletics.com.