Central 49
Sweet Home 47
With ice on their shot, things didn’t look good for the Husky boys basketball team Friday night in its league opener at Central Friday night.
In their 49-47 win over Central, Husky shots wouldn’t fall during the first quarter and Central jumped out to a 14-6 lead.
“We came out tight, which was my fault,” Coach Mark Risen said. “I got them a little too intense.”
They were too excited, Coach Risen said, but once they worked some of the adrenaline out of their system, the Huskies’ shot started falling.
The Huskies pulled within four by halftime off a three-pointer from Anthony Mink at the buzzer, ending a 9-1 run. The Huskies trailed 19-15 at half-time.
“Our defense carried us,” Coach Risen said. “If we didn’t play defense, we would have been down by 30.”
Though stubborn, the Husky defense had a few mistakes in it, but not enough to hold them off from a third-quarter comeback.
“I really thought that we came out after half-time and re-established our defense in the third,” Coach Risen said. The Huskies turned that defense into offensive production and a 20-8 run through the third quarter.
The Huskies led 35-27 after the third quarter.
But Central wouldn’t be counted out so easily.
Andrew Stockner came off the bench to give Central 12 points in just a couple of minutes, dropping three three-pointers and making a three-point play.
Kevin Furry met Coach Risen on the sideline and suggested an old Husky trick, one Coach Risen didn’t want to detail, to take Stockner out of the equation. It worked, and Stockner was held scoreless the rest of the game.
“That’s absolutely a testament to Kevin Furry’s heart right there,” Coach Risen said. The job of guarding Jordan Pratt, one of the top players and rebounders in the league, also fell to Furry. Furry held Pratt to three field goals and one offensive board. Pratt finished with 14 points.
Jason Marshall added another 12 points for Central.
“We had every guy on the floor make a big play down the stretch,” Coach Risen said. A three-point play from Mink set the momentum for the Huskies after Stockner’s 12-point run. Sam Posthuma and Aaron Hegge both had key put-backs, and Nik Walker dropped two free throws to seal the win with five seconds left. Ricky Howe and Tim Matuszak both had key assists.
Adding to the difficulty of the night, Coach Risen said, Matuszak had just returned from a vacation. Donny Cliver was in Wyoming. Mike Severns blew out his ankle. How was fighting a 103-degree fever. Another player did not play for disciplinary reasons.
“In the big picture, we were scouted heavily at Philomath,” Coach Risen said. The Huskies ran only basic plays that Capital Conference coaches were already aware of and held off on new tricks. The focus that night, Tuesday last week, was on Central.
“Central in the big picture could mean everything come February,” Coach Risen said. “Our priority was on Friday night.… Central is a very, very good basketball team.”
Later this year, beating Central, ranked number nine in the state going into the game, will likely have a bearing on playoffs.
“Central’s going to have something to say about the championship later on,” Coach Risen said. Now the Huskies are focusing on the 11 upcoming league games.
Philomath, ranked number one in the state last week, defeated the Huskies 70-50.
The Huskies fought out from under a 26-9 lead to get within six in the third quarter using only the basics, which “I think paid off Friday,” Coach Risen said. Then Philomath changed the game. The Huskies didn’t adjust to it, and Philomath had built a 16-point lead.
“At that point, I basically decided I wasn’t going to pull out the stops,” Coach Risen said. “I was going to stick with basic stuff, eat it and hold our for Friday.”
Walker led the Huskies with 13 points at Philomath. Furry scored 11; Mink and Hegge, nine; Posthuma, six; and Howe, two. Logan Garvin led Philomath with 29. Kevin Boss and Tommy Bain added eight each for Philomath.
The Huskies hold an 8-4 overall record and are 1-0 in league.