East Linn’s boys dispatched Enterprise 67-54 Friday, Feb. 27, in the first round of the 2A Division state basketball playoffs.
No. 8 East Linn couldn’t get rolling, scoring only five points in the first period against the Pirates, ranked ninth in the 2A and 20-6 coming into the game. The game stayed tight for most of the first three quarters, as the score was tied 47-47 with just over three minutes left in the third period.
But that was when senior Brison Edwards scored six unanswered points to get things rolling for the Eagles, putting them up 56-47 and East Linn never looked back.
“We started off slow, offensively,” Coach Jonathan Whitehead said. “Our guys didn’t give up and they fought their way back into the game.”
Sophomore Grady Knurowsky made seven threes, including a critical trey in the fourth quarter, to lead the team with 26 points, going 7-16 from three-point range. Edwards scored 20 points to help pad the Eagles’ total.
Whitehead said junior Demetrius Wilke played a big part in the turnaround for East Linn at the end, getting a steal that he fed to Edwards for a crucial score.
Arellano for two points.
That turnover and a couple of others “really gave us a little bit of separation,” Whitehead said. “Demetrius doesn’t get a lot of attention, but we’re not successful without the stuff he does.”
He said two other key contributors were junior Gracen Christenson and sophomore Ryder Howard, who kept defensive pressure on the Pirates’ 6-7 senior post Kason Mitchell.
“They both did an amazing job,” Whitehead said.
Up next for the Eagles is a trip to the Round of Eight in Pendleton, where they will face No. 1 Trinity Lutheran at 3:15 p.m. Thursday, March 5.
The Saints beat 16th-seeded Santiam 84-50 to open their tournament. It was Trinity’s 23rd consecutive win after losing 80-73 in early December to Westside Christian, which was the top-seeded team in the 3A playoffs, but fell in an upset to No. 17 Banks in the first round of the 3A playoffs Friday.
Trinity Lutheran’s last 11 victories have been by 29 or more points.
Guard Quentin Romney went 6-for-8 from the floor and 10-for-11 at the free-throw line to pace the Saints with 22 points, while fellow backcourt player Chimi Gilbert added 17. The Saints have height with six players standing 6-2 or more, led by 6-7 junior forward Austin Imhoff, 6-5 junior center Brady Nichols and 6-4 senior forward Ben Limoges.
“They have a really good post and good guard play,” Whitehead said. “They are well-coached and really disciplined.
“We have to show up and play really good basketball, hold them to one shot and not turn the ball over ourselves.”
