North Bend 65, Sweet Home 51
The Huskies were unable to overcome an early deficit and lost 65-51 to North Bend Dec. 21 on the road in boys basketball.
“They kind of jumped all over us at the beginning again,” said Coach Kostanty Knurowski. North Bend built a 16-5 lead after one quarter and a 30-15 lead by halftime.
“We didn’t come out and execute very well,” Knurowski said. “They played extremely well in the first half.”
The Huskies were in early foul trouble, Knurowski said, and the top-10 ranked North Bend team helped drive it with its aggressive play.
“The second half, we played much better,” Knurowski said. “We came out and played inspired basketball.”
The Huskies cut the lead to 47-37 by the end of the third, but North Bend seemed always to have a three or some other answer every time the Huskies started really threatening.
North Bend shot seven threes on the game. In the fourth quarter, North Bend shot 7-8 from the foul line to help seal the win.
“We didn’t come out and play our best basketball,” Knurowski said. “A lot of that is a credit to North Bend.”
North Bend returned a large core from last season’s top-10 team.
It’s a tough team, and the game was another step for the Huskies as they find ways to execute against tough teams, Knurowski said.
The experience the Huskies lacked early on is not as much an issue, he said. The young Huskies are stepping up, and bright spots showed in this game.
Post Cody Felkins is consistently second in scoring, adding 11 points to scoring leader Gavin Kauffman’s 18.
Point guard Dallas Morgan scored all nine of his points in the second half to help his team as it tried to erase a big deficit.
Overall, the Huskies scored 21 field goals and shot 6-12 from the free throw line.
North Bend sank 24 field goals, including seven threes, and shot 10-13 from the foul line.
As the Huskies finish their Christmas break, they’re talknig about using these experiences against the best to get ready and set the tone for league, Knurowski said. And North Bend definitely qualifies as one of the best in the state.
The Huskies are playing in a three-day tournament at Stayton this week, from Tuesday to Thursday and returning to a regular schedule when they host Cascade on Jan. 7.
Sweet Home 5 10 22 14 – 51
North Bend 16 14 17 18 – 65
Sweet Home scoring: Gavin Kauffman 18, Felkins 11, Morgan 9, Robert Rubidoux 4, Kyle WInslow 4, Paul Kim 2, Taylor Mauch 2, Chris Webb 1, Jeremy White, Brice Vandenberg.
North Bend scoring: Logan Lucero 20, Jake Lucero 19, Johnson 8, Stump 7, Mateski 5, Davisson 4, Mitchell 2.