Sweet Home 52, Newport 45
Things didn’t look good to start with as the Newport Cubs built their lead against the Husky boys basketball team on Feb. 19; but turning the game around and winning it paved the way to a tie for the league championship.
The sluggish Huskies gave up a 13-6 lead to the Cubs, who were running a triangle and two defense to stop Gabe Kauffman and Ryan Graville.
The Huskies slowed that momentum down in the second quarter with Brent Moyer coming off the Husky bench to contribute a three and help break down the triangle-and-two defense.
The Cubs still expanded their lead by a point, to 25-17.
Down eight at halftime, the Huskies had their backs to the wall. They had to win the game for a shot at the championship. With a win, they would be guaranteed no worse than second place in league standings. Losing the game would have put them in third.
“We started out slow, and defensively, we gave up some second-chance opportunities,” Coach Tim Little said. “Their big guys capitalized.”
“It was pretty much all based on our intensity,” Kauffman said of the win. Nothing was flowing while they fought against the triangle-and-one, he said.
That defense was something the Huskies hadn’t faced since Gladstone, Little said.
“We were just mad in the second half with how we played in the first half,” Emmert said. “The first half, we weren’t (intense) at all.”
The Huskies upped their intensity and started scoring.
“Once we have a couple of good offensive plays, defense picks up,” Kaufman said, and that feeds the offense.
At halftime, the Huskies talked about intensity and penetrating the Newport defense more to draw fouls and put Newport players into foul trouble, Little said.
“Gabe had a big third quarter, with eight points,” Little said, and in the fourth quarter, Sweet Home was 9-10 from the foul line. The Huskies had definitely picked up their intensity.
The second half started with a defensive stop by Emmert, Little said, and then Sweet Home cut loose offensively.
Newport started the third quarter in its triangle-and-two, and Emmert hit the first bucket inside.
“At that point I think Colton had 10 or 12 points,” Little said.
“They knew if they were going to leave Colton open the rest of the game, he was going to blow it wide open,” he said. The Cubs went back to a man-to-man defense, opening up the floor for Kauffman and Graville.
The Huskies tied the game 33-33 at the end of the third quarter, Little said. To start the fourth, Emmert put up a lay-in, “and we didn’t look back.”
Little praised Moyer and Levi Marchbanks, who both came off the bench in a big way.
In the fourth quarter, Moyer handled some Newport pressure as well as helping relieve pressure in the second quarter by turning in a three.
Graville has been huge the past five games, averaging 15 points per game, Little said. “It’s prefect timing for us to have three offensive weapons, and Ryan also is doing well defensively.”
The win “solidified us in no worse than second place,” Little said, no matter what happened Friday night with Central. As it ended up, the Huskies (9-3) went 2-1 with Philomath (9-3) who defeated Taft Friday night, placing the Huskies second overall in league and giving Philomath the title.
Newport (8-4) finished third and will face Taft (2-10) for state seeding. The winner of that game will travel to Sweet Home for a shot at second seed. Taft tied Central’s record, but Taft won two of the three games where the two teams met.
Kauffman led Husky scoring with 22 points. Emmert added 12; Graville, 11; Moyer, 3; Marchbanks, 2; and Jerad Olsen, two. Josh Riggs and Dustin Hay played but did not score.
Travis Iverson and Cole Skriver each had 12 points to lead the Cubs. Jay Torland added eight; Tyler Conklin, seven; Daryn Palmer, four; and Eddie Crowe, two.
Sweet Home 60, Central 42
Comfortable after Tuesday’s win, the Huskies expertly delivered some vengeance and a loss to the Central Panthers, who had defeated them at home last in their last go-around, on the road Friday.
Win or lose at that point, the Huskies could have been league champions.
“We wanted to take care of business,” Little said. “We also wanted to carry the momentum.”
Central’s single win over the Huskies was enough to keep Sweet Home from winning the title in the end.
The Huskies dominated Central from the start.
“I think a lot of it was revenge,” Emmert said. “They cost us league, and we were upset about that. We knew if we didn’t come out focused, we could’ve lost it.”
The Huskies led 14-6 after one quarter and 32-23 at halftime. Central got within five points a couple times during the second quarter, but the Huskies shut down any chance for the Panthers to come back in the third, expanding their lead to 46-32.
Little once again credited his bench for doing well. Moyer didn’t score, but 5-7 sophomore pulled down six rebounds. Marchbanks showed up with nine points. Jerome Coleman added two points, and Zane Wise, Brandon Oswalt and Drew Emmert all made appearances in the game.
“It’s nice to have the younger guys come in,” Emmert said. “They’re not too nervous to play.”
“It definitely helps to have guys come in and start scoring 10 points off the bench,” Kauffman said. Earlier in the season, the younger guys would look a little nervous. That’s gone.
Marchbanks and Moyer are peaking the same way Graville is, Little said. “A guy coming off the bench contributing is exactly what we need at this time.
Emmert led the Huskies with 20 points. Graville scored 14; Marchbanks, a season-high nine; Kauffman, eight; Olsen, six; Coleman, two; and Josh Riggs, two.
For Central, Hedrick and Hamilton led scoring with 10 points each. Girard added eight; Whiteman, six; Pratt, three; King, two; Phillips, two; and Wallace, two.
As they prepare for upcoming games, intensity is key, bringing “it to every game and not waiting to the second half to bring it,” Kauffman said.
The Huskies need to make sure they put all 32 minutes together, Emmert said.
“We’ve just got to win Friday,” Little said. “We know that’s our best opportunity to get to the state quarterfinals.”
The Huskies will play for state tournament seeding in the Val-Co playoffs at 7 p.m. Friday night at home.
They will meet the winner of Tuesday’s game between Newport or Taft.
If the Huskies win and finish second seed, they will travel to Tillamook, and their next game will be at Gill Coliseum. If the Huskies lose Friday, they will travel to Scappoose or Seaside and then play one more game before reaching the quarterfinals in Corvallis.
Every coach thinks his team has a shot at the state title when they’re in the state tournament, Little said. He’s no different.
“Anything is possible, especially in a one-game scenario,” he said. “Anything is possible, and our kids, when their backs are against the wall, tend to play really well. They raise the intensity when everything is on the line.”
Sweet Home High School Athletic Director Dave Goetz is reminding fans that they will not be able to use their season passes to attend Friday night’s Val-Co playoff game. Contact Sweet Home High School at 367-7144 for prices, which weren’t available at press time.