The Huskies lost 77-73 to Lebanon on the road on Dec. 1.
“It was a good game,” said Coach Tim Porter. “We started out strong. We were ahead at the end of the first quarter.”
The Huskies led 15-18. They trailed just 41-40 at halftime. Lebanon grew its lead by the end of the third, 62-52.
But the Huskies battled back, just missing the win but playing really well, Porter said.
The team let down defensively in the second and third, he said. “We seem to trigger our whole game around defense.”
When the defense is doing well, the offense performs better, he said.
Leading scorers were Grant Kauffman, Hunter Jutte, Christian Porter and Bryce Daniels.
Jordan Miller drives through Westside Christian for two in Sweet Home High School girls basketball. Westside Christian defeated the Huskies 49-21 in Sweet Home on Dec. 19. Blanchet won 49-35 on Dec. 20 in Salem, and the Huskies lost 51-41 to Central on Friday.
Central 60, Sweet Home 44
Central carved out a huge lead in the second and third quarters to defeat the Huskies in Sweet Home 60-44 on Friday.
The Huskies built a 17-14 lead by the end of the first quarter against the defending state champion. Central rallied and held the Huskies to five and six points respectively in the second and third to build a 55-28 lead.
The Huskies outscored Central 16-5 in the final quarter.
“You always know, against Central they’re going to fight the whole way,” Porter said, and Central played well.
The Huskies hit early shots, starting the game with a three from Kauffman.
“Defintely, I thought we were playing really well too,” Porter said. Then Central put on the pressure, and the Huskies let up a bit.
“I think we got a little rattled,” Porter said. “I think some kids were upset with how the game was going, but this group of kids just always battles, which is fun to watch.”
Kauffman led scoring with 15 points, and Christian Porter added nine. Coach Porter said Austin Dixon and Kyler Gaskey did a good job.
Gaskey played some great defense and great rebounds, Porter said. “He gave us a little bit of a spark after we lost some of our edge.”
The Huskies will play in a three-day tournament in West Salem Thursday through Saturday.