Sweet Home’s boys basketball team got a taste of what the upper level of 4A basketball is going to look like last weekend, running into a Phoenix team the included players fresh off the Pirates football squad that beat the Huskies two weeks before to make the state semifinals.
Phoenix took the shorthanded Huskies, who were missing two veteran players, to task and came away with a win, but Sweet Home bounced back to win its other two games and take third.
Phoenix 61, Sweet Home 44
The Huskies finished with the third best record in boys basketball at the Phoenix Invitational held in Phoenix Thursday through Saturday.
Shorthanded with Brock Cota and Levi Marchbanks both unavailable for the invitational, they extended their record to 5-1, losing only to Phoenix so far this season.
The Huskies opened the invitational losing 61-44 to Phoenix on Thursday.
The teams played evenly until the fourth quarter when Phoenix dominated the Huskies 22-5.
Phoenix led 12-10 after one quarter. The teams were tied 26-26 at halftime and 39-39 after three quarters.
Phoenix scored the last 15 points of the game, Coach Kostanty Knurowski said. The Huskies didn’t score at all in the last four minutes of the game.
“We just didn’t play particularly well,” Knurowski said. Phoenix is a well-coached team with good athletes, and it did play well.
“We didn’t shoot particularly well,” Knurowski said. “We just didn’t seem to get into the rhythm. They made plays at the end of the game when we looked panicked. We definitely had our opportunities to win.”
Sweet Home 10 26 39 44
Phoenix 12 26 39 61
Sweet Home: Drew Emmert, 20; Willie Jones, 10; Brent Moyer, 6; Gavin Kauffman, 6; Jerome Coleman, 2; Justin Rice; John Webb; Chris Webb; Robert Rubidoux; Dallas Morgan; Kyle Winslow.
Phoenix: Dungannan, 16; Young, 13; Reagan, 12; Hobson, 8; Bohn, 6; Richardson, 2; Lapat, 1.
Sweet Home 84, Sutherlin 66
The Huskies overcame a strong Sutherlin offense 84-66 after playing closely during the first half on Friday.
“We scored a few points but we gave up a few as well,” Knurowski said. “It kind of ended up being a shootout. I felt like we let them get into an offensive rhythm. They got hot and stayed in the game awhile.”
Bringing a perimeter-based offense, Sutherlin sank seven three-pointers, and the Huskies were unable to rein in Chris Mock, who scored 30 for Sutherlin.
In response, the Huskies just brought even more offense and were able to get down the court and score a lot of points in transition.
When a team like Sutherlin hits a couple of shots early, it sets the tone and rhythm, Knurowski said, but that happened on the Huskies’ end of the court too.
Sutherlin led 16-14 after one quarter. The Huskies held a 34-30 advantage at halftime.
The Huskies expanded their lead to 57-46 by the end of the third.
Sweet Home 14 34 57 84
Sutherlin 16 30 46 66
Sweet Home: Kauffman, 31;Emmert, 21; Coleman, 13; Moyer, 11; Jones, 4; J. Webb, 2; C. Webb, 2; Rubidoux; Morgan .
Sutherlin: Mock, 30; Knox, 11; Jaukkuri, 8; McCabe, 8; Anderson, 3; Bradley, 2; McLain, 2; Mercer, 2.
Sweet Home 64, Eagle Point 60
5A Eagle Point tried to snatch the win from the Huskies in the final game of the Phoenix Invitational Saturday, taking the lead with just a minute and a half to two minutes left in the game, but Kauffman and Moyer scored to ensure a 64-60 win for the Huskies.
“That ended up being a close ball game,” Knurowski said. The Huskies led most of the game. Eagle Point got ahead, but Kauffman put down a three followed by two free throws from Moyer.
The Huskies led 19-11 after the first quarter and 33-22 at halftime. Eagle Point mounted a comeback in the third. “They got hot the third quarter and came out with great energy. It seemed like we came out flat.”
Eagle Point erased most of the Huskies lead, trailing only 46-43.
The Huskies faced some adversity during that game, Knurowski said. The officiating wasn’t consistent either direction, so it was difficult to get into a rhythm knowing what would or would not be called. The team’s legs were starting to get heavy, and they had a couple of minor injuries. Emmert hurt his thumb, and Jones hurt his knee.
That could have led the Huskies to quit, but they didn’t, Knurowski said. “We stayed together and played hard and got the win.”
Sweet Home 19 33 46 64
Eagle Point 11 22 43 60
Sweet Home: Kauffman, 25; Moyer, 10; Emmert, 9; Jones, 9; Coleman, 5; C. Webb, 4; J. Webb 2; Rubidoux.
Eagle Point: Logan Winter, 23; Holmes, 12; Smith, 8; Bolston, 7; Marlin, 6; Morris, 4.
Sweet Home 70, Creswell 45
The Huskies’ defense dominated the third quarter at Creswell on Dec. 8 to lead to a 70-45 victory.
“It was relatively close the first half,” Knurowski said. The Huskies led 16-11 after one quarter and 28-20 at halftime.
In the third, “we came out with a lot of defensive pressure and were able to get some easy buckets,” Knurowski said. The Husky defense and full-court press confused Creswell, putting a few steals into Husky hands.
The team rotated through players to keep them fresh during their first road game of the year, and a lot of players contributed even when they weren’t scoring, Knurowski said. The effort paid off big as the Huskies led 54-31 at the end of the third quarter.
“They’re a playoff team, but they’re a 3A playoff team,” Knurowski said. Creswell went to overtime with the Huskies last year, but several players graduated. His guess is that Creswell will compete well for a playoff spot in its league.
Sweet Home 16 28 54 70
Creswell 11 20 31 45
Sweet Home: Kauffman, 21; Emmert, 20; Marchbanks, 7; Jones, 7; J. Webb, 6; Cota, 4; Coleman, 4; C. Webb, 1; Moyer; Rice; Rubidoux; Morgan; Kyle Winslow.
Creswell: Lex Harrdd, 10; Robert Shepler, 10; Pruitt, 7; Maillard, 4; Jones, 4; Leiken, 2; Atwood, 2; Fisher, 2; Delaplain, 2; McFadden, 2; Mullikin.