Ken Roberts
Sports Writer
The Estacada Rangers used their superior height advantage to get off to a good start in the opening round of the state playoffs held at Sweet Home High School last Tuesday.
Then, after the Huskies closed off the inside for three quarters, the Rangers found a way in overtime to use that same advantage to close out Sweet Home, 56-52, in front of their boisterous, packed crowd.
Sweet Home’s strategy going into the game was to seal off the inside and force Estacada to take outside shots. On the offensive end, they wanted to put the Estacada big men in foul trouble. The latter was accomplished as Craig O’Meara, the Rangers main inside threat, was in trouble throughout the game and held scoreless until the fourth quarter.
But the Rangers got help from unexpected sources, starting with 6’4″ Bryce Hambelton, who had 8 points in the first quarter to help the Rangers to an early 14-6 lead.
“We were giving up post position to guys who had no business getting good post position,” said coach Mark Risen. “We had guys taking us to the rim that had no business taking us to the rim and guys getting offensive rebounds who had no business getting offensive rebounds.”
Half way through the first quarter, Risen called time out to adjust that situation, and from that point on, the Huskies denied inside passes and blocked out well as a team. At one point in the second quarter, Sweet Home drew to within three, but Estacada presented some new problems with their shorter personnel.
When the 6’5″ O’Meara left the game, he was replaced by the 5’5″ whirling dervish, Mario Olivares, whose hustle and inside penetration kept the Huskies at bay. Then 5’9″ point guard Kyle Gilstad made back to back baskets, the second on a steal and fullcourt drive that reestablished the Rangers’ command at 26-17.
Once again Risen called a timeout, and the Huskies responded again. They closed the second quarter with a 7-2 run, starting with a dipsy-do drive by Ricky Howe and then 5 points from Anthony Mink, to only trail 28-24 at halftime.
The Huskies picked up their defensive intensity to start the third quarter which helped them peck away at the Ranger lead. At the 4:30 mark, Sweet Home took its only lead in regulation when Mink sank a pair of free throws. But Estacada came right back on their next possession to regain the lead which they kept, but only by one, 39-38, at the end of the third quarter.
The Huskies had begun to show signs of fatigue in covering the inside in the third quarter when Chris Beaman, a 6’7″ senior, came off the bench to score six. In all, Estacada had 18 points from Beaman and Olivares off the bench while Sweet Home’s bench was held scoreless.
O’Meara came back into the game in the fourth quarter for Estacada and made his presence known. Though he picked up his fourth foul in the first two minutes, he also scored five of the Rangers’ first seven points in the fourth period.
“It wasn’t like he was taking me inside,” said Howe. “He was just hitting the fade away shot.
They played above us. It’s hard to stop a shot like that.”
But the scoring did stop for both teams. With the score 46-42, both teams went into an offensive drought that lasted three minutes for the Huskies and the entire quarter for Estacada.
Howe sank a free throw and Mink nailed a three pointer to tie the score with 25 seconds remaining. Then Mink drew a Ranger offensive foul as they drove the baseline, allowing the Huskies to set up one final play—their patented back door alley-oop pass from Matuszak to Howe. But Hambelton read the play and tipped the ball off Howe out of bounds.
In overtime, O’Meara, who had managed to stay in the game without fouling again, was too much of a force. After Mink sank an NBA distance three to give the Huskies a one point lead, O’Meara came back with another inside jump shot and a make off an offensive rebound to give Estacada a 4 point lead with under a minute to go.
“I think our post men got tired,” said Risen. “They battled and battled, but they got fatigued and got caught behind them. It takes a lot of energy to keep battling when you give up that much size.”
Tyler Emmert began to feel the strain in the fourth quarter.
“I was getting tired, but you just have to be there mentally,” stated Emmert. “Otherwise, you don’t have a chance.”
Despite the energy drain, the Huskies were not through. Mink was fouled on his next 3 point attempt, sinking two and then fouled immediately. For the second time, Estacada missed the front end of a one-and-one. Mink’s next shot was blocked but the Huskies gathered the offensive rebound and had one more opportunity to tie and send the game into a second overtime. Unfortunately, Howe’s inside attempt would not go down, and the Huskies’ season came to an end.
For the seniors, it was a matter of mixed feelings. In retrospect, they felt that they had a successful season, even though it ended on a losing note.
“I tried to go into this game like any other game,” said Matuszak, hoping that his calm demeanor would rub off on his teammates. “But it’s tough because that was it. It hit like a ton of bricks that it’s over with.”
Mink too had a chance to reflect.
“Since it had to be my last game, it was a good one to leave on,” said Mink. “It was at home and we played well.”
Risen agreed with most of that assessment.
“They left it all on the line,” stated Risen. “They scrapped and gave themselves a chance to win at the end.”
Still Risen had a little bit of an empty feeling.
“We knew what we had to do to get it done and we didn’t do it down the stretch,” said Risen. “There’s no worse feeling in sports than to feel like you beat yourself.”