Sean C. Morgan
Of The New Era
The high school boys’ basketball team came out of last week with a close win over Pleasant Hill, 42-40, but losing to Molalla 57-51.
At Pleasant Hill Friday night, the Huskies found themselves in a 13-8 hole in the first quarter.
“We had a great second quarter,” Coach Tim Little said. “We held them to one field goal in the second quarter” as as Sweet Home closed the deficit to just 19-18 at halftime.
Little benched Colton Emmert over early foul trouble, and some of the younger players, Josh Riggs, Kyle Carter and Ryan Graville stepped up and covered Emmert’s absence on defense. Each of them also scored two points. Carter pulled down six boards, and Riggs had four.
“It was a close game all game,” Little said. The lead shifted back and forth until halftime. Pleasant Hill held onto a one point lead at the end of the third quarter, 33-32.
“Colton got back in the second half and got 13 of his 15 in the second half.”
Gabe Kauffman joined Emmert leading the Husky victory scoring 10 points, pulling down 11 rebounds and stealing the ball five times.
Pleasant Hill is a decent team and will compete for a state playoff berth in the Sky-Em, Little said. “Any win on the road is a good win. Pleasant Hill is definitely a win we were excited to get, and it wasn’t against a cupcake team.”
The players are excited and hope to carry the momentum on this week as they face Sisters at home on Friday and travel to Gladstone on Saturday, Little said. They also were scheduled to play at Marist on Tuesday.
Hosting Molalla on Dec. 5, the Huskies were trailing 13-10 after one quarter. Molalla built up a 34-23 halftime lead, but the Huskies rallied a strong third quarter to get within three, 42-39.
“They came in returning four starters from last year,” Little said. “They’re not the whipping team they have been the last three years. They’re solid defensively, very athletic; and they’ve all been playing together for three years.”
The Indians struggled during the seasons when they were young, but with that experience, they’re a better team, Little said. Molalla took out the Husky defense, taking looks the Huskies had not expected or prepared for at all this year.
In the last minute of the game, the Huskies trailed by 10 points. An intense effort to steal the ball and score helped the Huskies cut the lead to six by the end. Ricky Worley hit a three and then another but was called out of bounds on the second shot.
The team was feeling a little down after Molalla, but “we showed up Friday night, defensively and offensively,” Little said.
Against Molalla, Emmert led scoring with 17 points. Brandon Weist added 12; Worley, 10; Kauffman, seven; Graville, three; and Carter, two. Riggs, Nathan Whitfield and Ray Lingenfelter played but did not score.
Against Pleasant Hill, Emmert led with 15 points. Kauffman added 10; Weist, seven; Worley, four; and Whitfield, Riggs and Carter, two.