The high school summer boys basketball team spent last week honing their new high-speed, full-court game, walloping Siuslaw and Junction City at Junction City on June 10.
The Huskies defeated Siuslaw by about 20 points, Coach Kostanty Knurowski said. He didn’t have an exact score or stats available. The team doesn’t keep close stats during the informal summer season.
“We played pretty well,” Knurowski said. “I believe we scored in the 60s in both games, which is good in the summer when the clock is pretty much running.”
Against Siuslaw, “we came out of the gate and just got after them on defense,” he said, and then held on to a 20-point lead throughout the game.
Facing Junction City, “it started closer than we’d like,” he said. Junction City took an early lead, but the Huskies scrapped their way back to a tie with five minutes left in the first half and a 10-point lead by halftime.
“We came out the gate in the second half and just kind of blew their doors off,” he said. The huskies ended up with a 25-point win.
Their opponents may not be up to their usual strength, he said, but both programs have generally been successful in the past.
“I was really pleased with how we came out and competed,” he said. The Huskies are learning Knurowski’s style well.
“I thought Brent Moyer and Ryan Graville, especially in the second game, really got out very well on the defensive end as far as picking up the full court,” Knurowski said. Drew Emmert shot the ball well from the perimeter, while Josh Riggs distributed the ball well from the post where he “was an animal on the boards.”
Levi Marchbanks ran the floor well, while Gavin Kauffman provided some great shooting and filled the lanes getting to the basket, Knurowski said.
“The thing I really like about these guys, they really look to each other,” he said. “They’re making the extra pass to make the game easier for each other, and I think the tempo they’re playing really fits well with them.
“It was nice to go over and get a couple of wins.”
The team travels to Pleasant Hill for a tournament hosted by Cottage Grove on Saturday and Sunday.
The junior varsity will head for a tournament at Woodburn on June 27-28 while the varsity travels to Seaside Team Camp June 29 to July 2.