The Huskies had a rough week in boys basketball, falling to Woodburn 66-49 and Blanchet Catholic 82-68 in the SCTC Holiday Classic Tournament hosted by Stayton High School.
They faced Woodburn Wednesday and Blanchet Thursday.
“They’re an OK 5A team, but they’re quick and they shot really well against us,” said Coach Drew Emmert. “Both games we started the first five minutes just awful.”
The Huskies got behind early but then were able to play with their opponents.
Against Woodburn, the Huskies trailed by 31 at one point and then were able to get within 14 during the fourth quarter.
“(Blanchet is) really good this year,” Emmert said. “They’re one of the best teams we’ve played this year.”
Blanchet’s point guard is very good, Emmert said, and he led scoring with 41 points.
Blanchet jumped ahead 22-6 early, he said. The Huskies won the rest of the game but it wasn’t enough to overcome that lead.
Andrew Freitag led scoring for the Huskies in the tournament, while Keegan Holly scored double digits and Jake Swanson scored well.
Casey Tow is starting to settle into the speed of the varsity level, Emmert said.
“As a team, we didn’t come out and focus too well,” Emmert said. “Both games, it was all in the first four minutes of the game.”
While playing a lot of games, the team hasn’t had much time for practice the past couple of weeks, Emmert said, which makes it difficult to adjust things.
The team will spend this week and next practicing most days, with just one game each week on Friday, Emmert said.
The Huskies are 5-7 overall as they head into their last non-league game against Crook County Friday evening on the road. They’ll open league play hosting Sutherlin at 5:45 p.m. on Jan. 12.
Around the league, Junction City is 7-3 in its non-league schedule; Sutherlin, 7-4; Cottage Grove, 6-4; Sisters, 6-5; and Elmira 3-8.
The girls varsity won its first game this year Woodburn 44-38 Wednesday at the same tournament, its first win since Jan. 8, 2016 against Crook County. Blanchet defeated the girls 68-19 Thursday.
The girls were scheduled to host Yamhill-Carlton Tuesday and travel to Crook County Friday. They will host Sutherlin at 7:15 p.m. Jan. 12 to open league play.