The boys basketball team lost to fourth-ranked Philomath but dominated Toledo last week.
The Huskies faced Philomath away on Dec. 4.
Philomath had a slim 15-13 lead after one, then the Huskies poured it on to lead 25-20 by halftime. In the third, the Huskies held onto the lead until Philomath went on a 10-0 run in the last three minutes.
“It was just catch-up for us from there,” Coach Tim Little said. “For us, it’s probably one of the better games we’ve played with the exception of three minutes in the third quarter.”
Cody Shipp said something a ref didn’t like after a questionable call and drew a technical. Philomath sank the free throws, scored on the possession then scored on a Husky turnover.
The team kind of lost its composure, Coach Little said. “I think we learned a lesson from it. For three quarters, we played with one of the top teams in the state. We did a good job for the most part. We were pleased.
Garrett Kauffman led scoring with 17 points. Andy Worley added seven; Aaron Forquer, five; Ravi Patel, four; Shipp, four; and Alex Ritzman, two.
The Huskies dominated the game early on building a 16-7 lead in the first quarter and a 31-20 lead by half-time.
Toledo made a small comeback, getting within five, during the third quarter. The Huskies led 40-32 at the end of the third.
“We got a little frustrated with ourselves in the third quarter,” Coach Little said. “We made some bad decisions, but we got things back together in the fourth,” making better offensive decisions and playing with more defensive intensity.
As far as intensity, the Huskies had more against Philomath.
“We seem to play at the other team’s level,” Coach Little said. “We regrouped well. We finally hit our free throws (9-10) there in the fourth.”
Ryan Elliott had a breakout game, Coach Little said, and Ritzman had a great first half with solid moves.
“We were happy overall,” Coach Little said. “The team knows it’s a preseason game. We’ve got to be able to bring the intensity every night” in league play. “Once league starts, every game is for the championship basically.”
League play opens against Molalla at home on Jan. 18.
Ritzman led scoring with 11 points. Elliott added 10; Worley, nine; Shipp, seven; Kauffman, six; Patel, five; and Matt Morneault, five in his first game of the season. Mark Lewis played but did not score.
Lynch and Warfield led scoring for Toledo with 11 points each. Brown added nine; Bradley, nine; Kirkland, five; Limbert, three; Colt, zero; White, zero.