Sweet Home’s boys basketball team split a pair of non-league road contests last week, falling to Marist Catholic (4-3) 61-20, but bouncing back to beat Harrisburg (4-3) 46-45.
The Husky performance against No. 18 Marist left some things to be desired, Head Coach Drew Emmert said. “We played as bad as we could have, and they shot really well,” the coach explained, noting that the Spartans hit six of their first seven three point attempts.
“They are a really tough matchup for us, because they’re skilled and quick offensively. We got down on the scoreboard, and we’re not great coming from behind. We didn’t rebound, defend, or run our stuff very well.”
Sophomore Nathan Aker, junior Von James and senior Russ Holly led the team in scoring on the slow night of offense, with six points apiece.
Emmert said his team worked on toughness in the practices between the Marist and Harrisburg games, and he said his team played “a lot better” against the No. 27- ranked 3A Eagles, even adding that the game was his team’s best showing of the year.
Keys to the victory were Holly’s defense against the Eagles’ former all-state big man Brett Murray, as well as senior Eddie Martinez’s defense against top Harrisburg guard Trey Crabb, Emmert said.
“We played a lot better and rebounded well,” Emmert said of his team, which prevailed in overtime despite a 10-point deficit in the second half and a buzzer beating three pointer made by the Eagles at the end of regulation to send the game to OT.
As the final seconds of the game ticked away, the Eagles, down by one, managed to get a shot off close to the rim on a contested drive, but it didn’t fall, and Sweet Home emerged victorious for their second win of the season.
Holly earned a double double with 17 points and 12 rebounds. Senior point guard Eddie Martinez added 12 points for Sweet Home, and Aker and junior Evan Towry each had seven.
The Huskies (2-5) split their return to their home court this Tuesday, Dec. 21, hosting Yamhill-Carlton (1-6) at 7 p.m.