The Huskies defeated Corbett High School 62-44 in boys soccer in the final game of three at a tournament at Stayton High School on Dec. 31.
The two teams swapped buckets early in the fourth quarter before Justin Tow hit a pair of free throws followed by a field goal to go ahead 11-7. The Huskies led 15-11 by the end of the quarter.
Corbett tied it up 19-19 early in the second. Kyler Gaskey hit a shot, drew a foul and hit the free throw to push the Huskies ahead for good, 24-21, less than two minutes into the second.
The next four minutes, neither side could find a bucket until Corbett’s Zander Annus hit a free throw. Gaskey scored another goal, and the Huskies led 26-22. The Huskies led 31-25 at the half and pulled away in the third, holding Corbett to five points and leading 45-30.
Ryan Adams led scoring for the Huskies with 16 points. Hunter Jutte added 15 and three steals. Kevin Seiber stole the ball three times and sank a three, while Tyler Plebuch led on the boards with six rebounds. Gaskey and Brycen Mitten pulled down five rebounds each, half of them offensive.
The team shot 53.7 percent from the field and 55.6 percent from the foul line. The Huskies turned the ball over 12 times and stole it 10 times.
“They had a couple guys that could flat out score the basketball,” said Coach Brandon Gaskey.
After losing two games, “we came out and played better for sure,” Gaskey said. “Honestly, it should’ve been a lot better win.”
But daily 10:30 a.m. games make it hard to work on adjustments, Gaskey said. His players didn’t have time to work out changes.
This was the first game someone beside Jutte led scoring, Gaskey said. “Having that extra scoring option is nice.”
Jutte found himself facing a tricky box-and-one two days earlier against Yamhill-Carlton, Gaskey said. Adams did a good job all week long.
So did Jutte, Gaskey said. “He’s not forced things lately. He’s been more patient.”
That’s something difficult for a player of his caliber, Gaskey said.
Sweet Home 15 16 14 17 – 62
Corbett 11 14 5 15 – 44
Sweet Home: Ryan Adams 16, Hunter Jutte 15, Tyler Plebuch 6, Daniel Virtue 4, Justin Tow 4, Kyler Gaskey 4, Brycen Mitten 4, Andre Holmes 4, Kevin Seiber 3, Jake Bangot 2, Eric Burks, Justin Carpenter, Keanu Aiona.
Corbett: Zander Annus 23, Weien 14, Tello 4, Davis 3, Paul 1, Corbett, Miller, Gilbert, Woodward.
Sutherlin 54, Sweet Home 40
In a preview of league play, Sutherlin defeated the Huskies 54-40 in the second game of the Stayton Tournament on Dec. 30.
Jutte hit a two and a three to build an early 5-2 lead, but their shooting went cold for the next five minutes as Sutherlin built a 12-5 lead. Jutte broke the ice with a free throw, and Tow hit a bucket to close the gap by the end of the first quarter, 12-8.
The Huskies clawed their way to a 15-15 tie with two minutes left in the half on a pair of free throws from Jutte. Adams and Jutte each scored another bucket to take a 19-15 lead at halftime.
Sutherline’s Noah Caillier and Wryland McKnight each hit shots to tie the game out of the gate in the third to tie the game 19-19 and spark a run ending in a 33-28 Sutherlin lead after three quarters.
Jutte led Huskies in scoring with 23 points. He had three steals and five rebounds.
Tow led on the boards with eight rebounds. Mitten added three steals.
The team shot 31 percent from the field and 64.7 percent from the foul line, turning the ball over 18 times, stealing the ball 10 times and recording 26 rebounds, 10 of them offensive.
Sutherlin is a good team, with a second-team all-state guard and a fast left-handed shooter with a long range, Gaskey said. “They really are not as deep as you’d think, but what they do they do well.”
The Huskies entered the tournament with low energy, Gaskey said, but by the second day, against Sutherlin, they had better energy levels. They held their own through the half but ran out of gas in the third.
With a couple of technical fouls, “we lost our composure,” Gaskey said, and end-of-game fouling drove the margin higher.
Sweet Home 8 11 9 12 – 40
Sutherlin 12 3 18 21 – 54
Sweet Home: Jutte 23, Adams 4, Tow 4, Mitten 4, Bangot 2, Plebuch 2, Virtue 1, Carpenter, Seiber, Aiona, Gaskey, Holmes.
Sutherlin: Noah Caillier 26, McKnight 9, Carson 6, Eakin 6, Brownson 3, Shelton 2, Tharp 2, Harwood, Briggs.
Yamhill-Carlton 50,
Sweet Home 47
The Huskies came out flat to open the Stayton Tournament on Dec. 29, losing 50-47 in a rematch against Yamhill-Carlton.
Yamhill-Carlton took the early lead, ahead 18-12 by the end of the first quarter. They expanded their lead to 32-22 at halftime. The Huskies made a slight gain, trailing 43-34 at the end of the third quarter. The Huskies outscored Yamhill-Carlton by six in the fourth.
“We started out slow again,” Gaskey said. “We didn’t have a lot of energy.”
“I still believe we are the better team,” Gaskey said, but a lot of the Huskies were out for Christmas vacation. Practice was inconsistent.
Still, in the last couple of minutes, the Huskies stayed within five, Gaskey said. They just couldn’t find the extra buckets to close it out.
Jutte led scoring with 20 points. Two led on boards with 13 rebounds, six of them offensive.
The Huskies pulled down 38 rebounds, 17 of them offensive, with eight steals and just eight turnovers. They shot 33.3 percent from the field and 50 percent from the foul line.
Yamhill-Carlton 18 14 11 7 – 50
Sweet Home 12 10 12 13 – 47
Yamhill-Carlton: Zach Rhodes 17, Myrick 13, Rabung 9, Renteria 6, Mitchell 3, Harloff 2, Weider, Stokes.
Sweet Home: Jutte 20, Adams 9, Tow 7, Virtue 4, Seiber 3, Mitten 2, Holmes 2, Burks, Plebuch, Gaskey.