Sweet Home’s boys basketball team faced a challenging start to their Oregon West Conference season last week, losing 48-29 at home to Philomath 48-29 and 54-28 on the road at Stayton.
The Huskies hosted Philomath on Tuesday, Jan. 21, struggling against the Warriors’ dominance on the boards. Despite shooting a better percentage than Philomath and playing solid defense, Sweet Home got out-offensive rebounded 19-4, which contributed to a tough loss.
“The physicality of league was a bit of a wake-up call for us,” said Coach Drew Emmert. “Philomath dominated us on the rebounds. We defended well, but that kind of disparity on the boards is hard to overcome.”
Sweet Home then hit the road Friday, Jan. 24, to take on then No. 5 Stayton, a team that lived up to its billing. Stayton’s defensive intensity caused problems for the Huskies, and their “hot shooting” proved too much to handle.
“Stayton is a top-10 team in the state and played like it,” Emmert said. “They shot really well and their physicality on defense gave us trouble.”
Sophomore Kellen Hartsook was a bright spot for Sweet Home, leading the scoring efforts throughout the week, Emmert noted.
Looking ahead, the Huskies aim to bounce back when they travel to North Marion (ranked ninth in the 4A going into this week) on Tuesday, Jan. 29.
They will host No. 8 Newport Friday, Jan. 31. Four of the OWC’s six teams are ranked in the top 10.
The OWC, Emmert noted, is “the best league in the 4A competition.”
“We need to win the rebound battle and take care of the ball,” he said. “They shoot too well, so we’ll need to fly around defensively.”