Sisters 58, Sweet Home 56
The Husky boys basketball team lost a heart-breaker 58-56, as Sisters sank a shot at the buzzer to beat Sweet Home in its own gym Jan. 24.
“We had the ball with 30 seconds left or so,” Coach Tim Little said. “We had just spent a timeout talking about getting the last shot. We had a play we were going to run and take the game into overtime or win it.”
An ill-advised pass turned the ball over to Sisters, Little said. Tim Faulconer stole it back but turned it over again. Sisters tried a three but missed when another Sisters player tipped it in at the buzzer to get the win.
The Huskies trailed 19-13 after the first quarter, but they scratched out a 32-29 lead at halftime and were tied 50-50 at the end of the third quarter.
“We had a couple mistakes by seniors that were uncharacteristic,” Little said. “Those, especially at the end of the game, really hurt. Besides that, it was probably one of our best games all year as far as physical effort.”
The Huskies showed improvement with the things the didn’t do as well against Stayton the Friday before, Little said. “We just wish as a team we could take back the last 30 seconds.”
Sisters is 3-1 and second in league.
Cody Shipp led scoring with 12 points. Faulconer added nine; Charlie Fitzsimons, eight; Anthony Hoffman, eight; Ryan Elliott, eight; Brandon Smith, four; Gabe Kauffman, four; and Brandon Weist, three.
Mount led Sisters with 23 points. Jackson added 13.
Cascade 62, Sweet Home 45
Cascade dominated the Huskies in a 62-45 win on Jan. 27 on the road.
The Huskies trailed 28-15 at halftime, Little said. The Huskies cut that lead to nine during the third quarter but were unable to get closer.
Cascade stopped the Husky offense with a zone and trapping, forcing the Huskies into the perimeter where they shot only 1 for 10 from behind the three-point line.
Kauffman was injured during the Sisters game, Little said. Had he played at Cascade, he may have hit a couple of threes.
Cascade is a solid team, Little said. They’re big, 6-5 in the middle, but the Huskies did a good job shutting down Cascades inside attack. The problem was Cascades three guards, who shot 20, 19 and 14 points for the game. They included Nash and Gray, both first-team players from last year.
Cascade is 2-2 with losses to Stayton and North Marion.
Shipp and Hoffman led scoring with nine points each. Shipp had three steals. Elliott scored eight points with three steals. Charlie Fitzsimons added six points; Weist and Faulconer, three each; Smith, Ricky Worley and Colton Emmert, two each.
“We’re taking them one at a time now, just understanding that on any given night anybody can be beaten,” Little said. “The kids are still working hard in practice and staying focused. We all feel we’re still improving and learning new stuff.”