Cagers score high but split league contests

Sweet Home 72, Elmira 47

Led by a twin attack from Taylor Mauch and Gavin Kauffman, the Huskies dominated Elmira Friday night at home, winning 72-42 in boys basketball.

“They jumped out in front of us there in the beginning,” said Coach Kostanty Knurowski.

But by late in the first quarter, the Huskies had erased Elmira’s only lead of the game and were preparing to take total control.

The Huskies led 14-13 after one quarter and 32-28 at halftime after Elmira sank a three on the buzzer, with Kauffman sitting out much of the second quarter in foul trouble.

Then the Huskies scoring machine really went to work. The Huskies led 56-39 at the end of the third.

In the third quarter, “defense got us quite a few easy buckets,” Knurowski said.

Taylor Mauch led scoring for the Huskies with 28 points, followed by Kauffman with 22.

“It’s got to be one of his (Mauch’s) best games ever,” Knurowski said. He was in double digits rebounding too.

“We put him at the top of our press,” Knurowski said. “He got his hands on a lot of balls. He was very active. Taylor just wanted the ball more than everybody else.”

If the ball was on the floor, Knurowski said, Mauch came up with it.

He has shown that capability from time to time, Knurowski said. “It was good to see him put that all together and have a game like he did. When he and Gavin are scoring, it makes them much tougher to beat.”

Elmira 13 15 11 8 – 47

Sweet Home 14 18 24 16 – 72

Elmira Scoring: Mikah Reed 16, Boggs 11, Messman 6, Fay 4, Westlund 2, Harper 2, Ota 2, Deleon 2, Tena 2, Admire, Thilbert, Larkin, Newton.

Sweet Home Scoring: Mauch 28, Kauffman 22, Jeremy White 8, Cody Felkins 6, Paul Kim 2, Dallas Morgan 2, Robert Rubidoux 2, Brice Vandenberg 2, Jason Rice, Justin Rice, Chris Webb, Nick Lloyd, Kyle Winslow.

Cottage Grove 86,

Sweet Home 70

Sweet Home scored 70 against Cottage Grove, enough to win almost any other game, but Cottage Grove scored 86 in Cottage Grove on Jan. 18 to win.

“We came out, and it didn’t feel like we were ready to play at game time,” Knurowski said. “They scored the first 14 points of the game.”

The Huskies started scoring, but Cottage Grove kept scoring more, leading 29-12 at the end of the first quarter. The Huskies cut the lead by two at halftime, trailing 46-31. At the end of the third, the Huskies were behind 64-45.

The Huskies allowed easy early buckets in transition and gave up a few open looks to the Lions, Knurowski said. Once Cottage Grove had its lead, the Huskies were never able to cut it to a single digit.

After that first quarter, the Huskies played Cottage Grove fairly evenly, Knurowski said. “For the entire game, we really struggled to get a stop.”

By the end, the Lions had successfully connected 12 threes.

“They’re a good team,” Knurowski said. “They’ve moved up to number three in the state.”

At this point, “the key is we don’t let them get two games ahead of us in the standings,” Knurowski said. To that end, he’ll be looking for wins at Junction City on Friday and at Sisters on Tuesday.

Sweet Home 12 19 14 25 – 70

Cottage Grove 29 17 18 22 – 86

Sweet Home: Kauffman 31, Felkins 13, Morgan 11, Mauch 6, Rubidoux 4, White 2, Winslow 2, Ja. Rice 1, Kim, Ju. Rice, Webb, Lloyd.

Cottage Grove Scoring: Nathan Shepherd 21, Maddess 20, Hurd 14, Grey 13, Morales 10, Rothermund 7, Dieke 1, Bruce.

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