Sweet Home’s boys basketball squad squeaked by Philomath at home Friday after being steamrolled at Central two days earlier for the Huskies’ first league loss of the season. The win keeps the Huskies tied with Central for the league lead.
Sweet Home 79, Philomath 77
Gavin Kauffman dropped a jumper from the top of the paint with just a fraction of a second left in the second overtime to seal a 79-77 victory over the visiting Warriors.
Apparently attempting a game plan similar to the one Central had used on Wednesday, Philomath jumped out to an early 18-10 lead in the first quarter. The Warriors led 35-28 at halftime.
“We kind of got off to a little bit of a rough start,” said Coach Kostanty Knurowski. “Our defensive intensity was fairly good, but they got a lot of second-chance shots and beat us to a lot of loose balls.”
Then Philomath got hot, and Cody Thomas almost singlehandedly pushed the Warriors into a big lead, Knurowski said.
“Our game plan was to keep the pressure and tempo up,” Knurowski said. The Huskies were guarding a little farther out, but Philomath hit shot after shot.
When the Huskies went on a run to close the nine-point deficit, Knurowski thought for a second that might be the push to put the game away, but Philomath had other plans.
Philomath led by nine points at one point in the third quarter, but the Huskies started chipping away at that lead and trailed only 46-44 going into the fourth quarter.
Drew Emmert shot a three with approximately 18 seconds left in regulation to tie the game at 59-59. With less than a second on the clock, Kauffman knocked a Philomath possession out of bounds. Philomath passed the ball to Miro Frankzerda under the bucket, but he missed the chance to win, sending the game into overtime.
Emmert stole the ball and drove in two points to start overtime. Thanks to trips the foul line, the Huskies built a 65-60 lead within the first two minutes. Philomath pulled within two at the foul line, and Jacob Erickson scored a three to get ahead with 20 seconds left.
Marchbanks drew a foul driving the basket off a pass from Emmert. He hit the front end of a trip to the foul line to tie the game at 67-67. Philomath dribbled out of bounds rebounding the second shot, and Moyer attempted the win at the buzzer but missed.
The second overtime became a contest of free throws, as players on both sides, including Emmert, Brock Cota and Levi Marchbanks, fouled out as each team answered the other in the second overtime. The teams were tied at 77-77 when Kauffman took the last shot, leaving no time for a Philomath response.
“It was like a heavyweight fight,” Knurowski said of the game, in which both teams made big play after big play to stay in it.
Emmert’s three to put the game into overtime was one of them.
“What a gutsy shot,” Knurowski said. “When we needed it, he was there to take it.”
It wouldn’t have happened if he didn’t have the guts to knock that three down, he said. On the flip side, “Erickson steps up and buries a three with Emmert right on him (in the first overtime).”
Fortunately for the Huskies, they shot well at the line, 30-35 on the night, Knurowski said.
In overtime, it seemed like the Huskies’ tempo was starting to affect Philomath, Knurowski said. The Warriors started reaching more on defense, got into foul trouble earlier and didn’t seem to shoot as well, but every time they needed a big play, someone made the big play.
“The other player that comes to mind was Kauffman at the end,” Knurowski said. The clock wasn’t at triple zeroes when he made his game-winning shot, but Philomath didn’t have a chance to do anything with it at that point.”
Jerome Coleman stepped up in overtime as Huskies started fouling out, Knurowski said. He came in after 20 minutes on the bench and quickly hit two free throws. He threw in a couple of great post moves and defensively made plays that Knurowski hadn’t seen him make before.
“He was a difference maker tonight,” Knurowski said. The Huskies have been talking about bringing energy off the bench, “and he’s doing a great job being a leader doing that. We don’t win this ball game tonight if he didn’t come out and spark us offensively and defensively.”
Thomas scored 23 to lead Philomath, but Brock Cota and Marchbanks stepped up and challenged him. They cooled him off and held him to seven after the first half. He had one basket and free throws before fouling out in the second overtime.
Losing Emmert to fouls was tough, Knurowski said, but Moyer has been in that situation more than once and did a nice job stepping up and running the offense.
John Webb went in for Emmert, Knurowski said. Webb hasn’t had a ton of minutes, but “he came off the bench and didn’t let us fall off at all. It was great to see him contribute in a pressure situation like he did.”
The win leaves the Huskies 6-1 in league, tied with Central.
Sweet Home was ranked fourth in state polls as Central climbed to the top spot Monday. Phoenix was ranked second, and Elmira was ranked third.
Philomath 18 17 11 13 8 10 €“ 77
Sweet Home 10 18 16 15 8 12 €“ 79
Scoring
Philomath €“ Thomas, 23; Erickson, 13; Bartlow, 12; Crowell,12; Frankzerda, 7; Keller, 6; McMakin, 2; Harmon, 2; Nash, 1.
Sweet Home €“ Gavin Kauffman, 34; Drew Emmert, 26; Jerome Coleman, 11; Willie Jones, 4; Levi Marchbanks, 2; Brent Moyer, 2; Brock Cota; John Webb.
Central 75, Sweet Home 44
The Panthers snapped the Huskies’ eight-game win streak at Central on Jan. 27.
“It was really whatever could go wrong that night would go wrong,” Knurowski said. Central played the best basketball game he has seen anywhere this season.
Central held a stifling 22-7 lead after one quarter and a 42-20 lead at halftime. The Panthers expanded that to 60-32 by the end of the third.
The Huskies were “a tad passive,” Knurowski said. Heading into the game, the Huskies had been seated atop the state rankings for two weeks, after handing Central its first loss of the season.
Even though they try not to talk about the polls, Knurowski said, it’s still in the back of everybody’s mind. Getting there, the Huskies were the hunter, aggressive and making their claim.
All of the sudden, they were at the top with no one left to knock off.
“I feel like we got Central’s best shot,” Knurowski said. “We didn’t come out being the aggressor. Central made plays. They just made great plays time after time again. When they play that way, I don’t know if anyone in the state can beat them.”
The Huskies will be looking for that chance though.
“It’s still going to come down to them one more time €“ at our place,” Knurowski said. But the Huskies aren’t worrying about Central so much right now because the whole league is tough, and they face two tough road games first, Taft and Newport.
With Newport is in third, Philomath in fourth and the Huskies and Central tied for first, it’s a shame that one of those teams won’t play after the end of regular season. Any of those teams could be first place in other leagues, Knurowski said.
In the meantime, the stiff competition is testing the Huskies, and he hopes that helps after the regular season.
“I really like the fact we’ve had some tough ball games, and I like the fact we’ve been tested time and time again,” Knurowski said.
Sweet Home 7 13 12 12 €“ 44
Central 22 20 18 15 €“ 75
Scoring
Sweet Home €“ Drew Emmert, 14; Gavin Kauffman, 11; Brent Moyer, 6; Levi Marchbanks, 6; Jerome Coleman, 4; Josh Rice; 2; Brock Cota, 2; Kyle Winslow; Chris Webb; John Webb.
Central €“ Jesse Pratt, 26; Phillips, 14; Hedrick, 13; Omlid, 9; Peters, 5; Padilla, 3; Robison, 2; Wylie, 2; Braa-Stanley, 1; Frerichs.