Building on their success on the basketball court against Stayton opening week, the Husky boys extended their winning streak to three games last week, defeating Pleasant Hill 66-43 and Molalla 57-51.
Thursday at home, the Huskies dominated Pleasant Hill early Thursday night, building a quick lead and finishing the first quarter 12-4. The Billies didn’t score until 1:45 was left in the quarter. The Huskies poured it on in the second quarter to build a 34-17 lead.
Relentlessly, they widened their lead to 20 points, 48-28, in the third quarter. Pleasant Hill took advantage of some Husky stumbling in the fourth period and got within 12 points about halfway through the quarter before the Huskies extended their lead to 23 points for the win.
The game was an opportunity for the Huskies, Coach Tim Little said. “We got up early and kept the lead. That was nice.
“Everybody got a lot of playing time, and we could see areas we need to improve on. Concentration levels were definitely the things that caused us to have issues. Having a 20-point lead, it’s easy to get lazy and lose some concentration.”
Up or down by a big margin, staying focused is essential, Little said. The Huskies know it too. They know they need to play every game like it was a Stayton or a Marist and be ready to play.
In the fourth quarter, the Huskies made some mistakes that were just lack of concentration, he said, and Pleasant Hill was able to pull close enough to make it a game.
“That’s scary,” Little said. “Twelve points is really not that big a lead.”
The Huskies called a couple of time-outs, regrouped and stopped any more headway by the Billies’ offense.
The game was a great opportunity for Sweet Home’s four sophomores and the juniors, who don’t see a lot of playing time, to get experience, Little said. The entire team is talented, but not all are experienced on the varsity floor. This will help improve the depth of experience on the team, Little said.
Gabe Kauffman led scoring for the Huskies with 20 points. Colton Emmert added 15 points; Ryan Graville, nine; Levi Marchbanks, eight; Dustin Hay, seven; Jerad Olsen, four; and Josh Riggs, three.
Pleasant Hill’s top two scorers both had nine points.
The Huskies were pressed a little harder on Dec. 4 by Molalla.
The Huskies trailed 15-14 after one quarter and then 29-25 at halftime. Molalla’s Terrance Glynn is one of the top players in the state. He is a four-year letterman and real athletic, Little said. He scored 32 points against the Huskies in that game.
Kauffman, Graville and Riggs all worked on Glynn throughout the game, Little said. “We just came out unfocused at the beginning of the game, definitely, and thought maybe we could go Molalla and get away with a win without your best effort.”
Not this year, Little said. At halftime, Little stressed defense, and the Huskies went out and held the Indians to just four points in the third quarter. By the end of the third quarter, the Huskies led 42-33.
“Emmert and Kauffman again led the way in the second half,” Little said. Emmert had 19 of his points in the half, and Kauffman had 11.
Emmert led Husky scoring with 23 points. Kauffman added 16; Graville, 12; Olsen, six; and Marchbanks, four.
Terrance Glynn led Molalla scoring with 32, and Jacob Moore added 10.
‘I’m glad to go out to Molalla and come away with a win and then to have Pleasant Hill at home Thursday night and handily take care of them,” Little said. It’s been awhile since the team has run a three-game winning streak or been solidly in a dominating lead where “you just need to take care of their own business and things will work out.”
The Huskies will travel to Sisters Friday, Little said. Sisters has lost one game, and opening week defeated Stayton even though Stayton scored more than 80 points in the game. Sisters will be in the top of the Sky Em this year.
Gladstone is a top-notch team as well, Little said. The Huskies will host Gladstone on Saturday.