Sweet Home 59
Junction City 46
The Husky boys defeated Junction City 59-46 on Thursday paving the way to a second-place finish in the annual Pleasant Hill-Junction City basketball tournament.
“That’s probably the best we’ve played all year,” Coach Mark Risen said. “By far, it’s the most consistent we’ve played for 32 minutes.”
Junction City played a tough, Husky-style, man-to-man defense, Coach Risen said, and it was a good experience for the Huskies to play against a tough defense and still score.
“They were up 14-7 after one,” Coach Risen said. “We just kind of took off from there.”
The Huskies broke Junction City down on penetration behind Kevin Furry and Nik Walker.
The Huskies led 25-23 by halftime and 43-32 at the end of the third quarter.
Leading the team in scoring was Furry with 14 points. Walker added 11; Aaron Hegge, seven; Wes Smith, seven; Josh Bondesen, six; Casey Aiello, five; Jake Gaskey, five; and Matt Matuszak, four. P. Lund led Junction City with nine points. D. Kohler added eight.
Sweet Home 45
Cottage Grove 42
The Huskies followed up with a 45-42 win over Cottage Grove on Friday.
“The first half was kind of nip and tuck,” Coach Risen said. “We didn’t shoot the ball well at all the first half.”
The Huskies trailed 12-8 after the first quarter and 19-18 at halftime. The Huskies built a 10-point lead in the third quarter and hung onto it most of the game but finishing the quarter 37-33. After building the lead again, Creswell pulled within three with just 41 seconds left before fouling Bondesen.
Bondesen missed two free throws with 19 seconds left. Walker fouled a Cottage Grove player on a three-point attempt sending the Cottage Grove player to the line for three shots.
The Huskies called a timeout, but Cottage Grove hit the first two free throws to pull within one. The Huskies took another timeout, and Cottage Grove missed the third free throw. Bondesen grabbed the board and drew a foul.
With six seconds left on the clock, Bondesen put down a pair of free throws to seal the win.
Walker led the Huskies with 11 points. Gaskey contributed 10 points; Smith, eight; Bondesen, eight; Hegge, four; Furry, two; and Aiello, two. D. Sabrn led Cottage Grove with 15 points.
Matuszak was injured diving into the stands after the ball. He received six stitches for a cut but will be able to continue playing.
Pleasant Hill 48
Sweet Home 40
A series of end-game free throws widened a 48-40 winning margin for Pleasant Hill in the championship game on Saturday.
The Huskies led 17-15 at the end of the first quarter, but the lead changed back and forth by anything from one to five points most of the game. The Huskies trailed 22-21 at halftime and 31-30 at the end of the third quarter.
“They made a push early in the fourth to build about a seven-point lead,” Coach Risen said. The Huskies cut that to just one point with 58 seconds left on the clock.
Pleasant Hill hit both shots on a 1-1 to go up by three. The ball wouldn’t fall for the Huskies the next couple of trips down the court. Pleasant Hill added points from the foul line as the Huskies fought for control of the ball in the final seconds.
Gaskey led the Huskies in scoring with eight points; Smith, seven; Furry, seven; Walker, six; Bondesen, five; Hegge, five; and Aiello, two. Nick Keith led Pleasant Hill with 19 points.
Gaskey received four stitches after catching Smith’s elbow. He also will be able to continue playing.
The Huskies finished second in the eight-team tournament behind Pleasant Hill. Creswell finished third, followed by Creswell and Cottage Grove.
The tournament exposed the Huskies to things they needed to see, Coach Risen said. The Huskies saw everything from match-up zone to soft and hard man-to-man defenses, presses and many different offenses.
“It was really healthy for us to see so many looks we have to prepare for,” Coach Risen said. The Huskies need to recognize changing offenses and defenses then adjust. They made huge strides in that area last week.
“Our kids play hard,” Coach Risen said. “I don’t care how you slice it. We’ve got a few fundamental things to work on, (but) I’m really pleased with the progress I’ve seen to date.”
The Huskies hold a 3-3 record following the tournament.
The Huskies host Estacada Thursday night. They travel to Marist on Friday, and next Wednesday and Thursday, they play in a tournament in Silverton.