“Head Coach Clif Wegner knew going into Thursday’s matchup with North Idaho College (27-2, 16-0) that it would be a big test for Clackamas Community College. The Cougars came into the NWAC Playoffs as a No. 4 seed and drew the strongest No. 1 seed in the tournament in the Cardinals.
“It’s always a challenge when you get picked to play the top-ranked team in the NWAC,” Wegner said three days before the game. “They are obviously the best, they’ve been the best from start to finish. I’ve never seen a team have so many 40-plus point wins.”
Wegner said to upset North Idaho, Clackamas would have to play a near perfect game.
The Cougars came out firing early, and behind strong shooting beyond the three-point line, Clackamas had an eight-point lead five minutes into the contest, 16-8.
North Idaho was able to get on a run to even things at 17-17 with 12:17 left and for the rest of the half the Cardinals outscored Clackamas 34-14.
Despite the Cougars hot start shooting, Clackamas finished the half shooting just 28.9 percent from the field while North Idaho shot 48.8 percent.
The Cougars started clawing back into the game with less than 14 minutes left in the second half and a layup by freshman post Matt O’Brien with 13:12 left in the game brought Clackamas within 14, 50-64, but the No. 1 ranked Cardinals turned it on and outscored the Cougars 41-18, clinching a 105-68 first round victory.
Freshman swingman Clay Sullivan led Clackamas in scoring with 19 points on 7-14 shooting from the field and 5-12 from beyond the arc.
Sophomore wing Adam Gehrig finished with 17 points and eight rebounds in his final game with Clackamas. Gehrig scored 733 points and grabbed 319 rebounds during his career at Clackamas.
Clackamas finishes the season with “an overall record of 20-9.”