Basketball: Hot-shooting quarter not enough to lift boys against No. 4 Philomath

Sweet Home boys basketball (2-13, ranked No. 32 in 4A) endured two lopsided losses to much higher ranked opponents last week.

On Tuesday, the boys fell 53-30 in a home game against Philomath (9-3, No. 4). Then on Friday, they lost 69-36 on the road against Sisters (7-5, No. 23).

Against Philomath, Sweet Home kept the game within eight points at halftime thanks in large part to a second quarter in which they outscored the Warriors 15-11.

Sweet Home was down 20-2 with five minutes left in the first half when their shooters caught fire. Senior Russell Holly nailed three three-pointers and Junior Evan Towry hit another from beyond the arc, helping to bring the score to 25-17 at halftime. But higher-ranked Philomath was able to pull away convincingly in the second half.

Head Coach Drew Emmert said that his team “didn’t rebound very well,” as their opponents pulled down 22 offensive boards.

“Philomath is big and athletic. That’s why they are near the top of the rankings,” Emmert said.

Holly led his team in scoring with 15 points on 6-for-14 shooting. Towry was the team’s second leading scorer with five points, going 2-for-3 from the field.

Against Sisters, Emmert was a bit disappointed with his team’s performance in a game that “could have been close if we dictated pace and played well.”

Sweet Home was down 33-11 by halftime, hurt by a tough second quarter of offense in which the team’s only two points came off of a lone bucket by Holly, who sat most of the quarter with foul trouble. Sweet Home was able to find a better rhythm in the second half, scoring 25 points, but was unable to keep a prolific Outlaw offense in check on the way to the 69-36 loss.

“We just played really bad,” Emmert said. “We just didn’t come out ready to play. They have some really good shooters, and we let them get too many open looks and dictate the pace.”

Holly again led the team in scoring with 13 points. Towry scored nine for the Huskies.

Facing off against Stayton in a Jan. 17 road game, the boys lost 69-27.

The team next plays at home against Newport (5-8, No. 27) at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 25.

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