Oakland High School summer basketball team edged out Sweet Home for the title to the Santiam Showdown here in Sweet Home.
Sweet Home went 3-1 hosting the five-team tournament, including Rogue River, Oregon Episcopal School, Oakland, Sweet Home and Sweet Home junior varsity.
“We’ve got a lot of room to improve,” Coach Tim Little said. “We’re not playing to our potential.”
At moments, the team showed signs of the incredible team it can be, Coach Little said, but it will need to improve its defense.
The Huskies opened the tournament with a 65-43 win over Rogue River.
“We didn’t’ play very well, but we came on real strong at the end,” Coach Little said. The Huskies delivered a 12-2 run in the final seven minutes of the game.
Scoring was led by Garrett Kauffman all weekend beginning with this game.
Offensively, the Huskies did well with great play from posts Alex Ritzman, Matt Morneault and Aaron Forquer, Coach Little said. Juniors Cody Shipp, Charlie Fitzsimons and Ryan Elliott helped out doing the “little things that help us be successful.”
The next game, a 49-42 win over Oregon Episcopal exposed the Huskies’ weakness in post defense, Coach Little said. OES led at halftime, and with five minutes left, the score was tied.
Sunday morning “we came out really flat,” Coach Little said. “We got down early. We got back within four, but we just couldn’t do it.”
Oakland defeated the Huskies 57-50.
“They just shot the lights out,” Coach Little said. Again, it showed the Huskies need to work on their defense. “That’s going to be the key to our success next year.”
In their fourth game, the varsity Huskies matched up against Rogue River again, winning 52-40.
Oakland finished the tournament 4-0.
The junior varsity dropped both its games, Coach Little said, but the team probably played Oakland better than any other team in the tournament.
Next weekend, the Huskies will travel to the Seattle area for the 36-team Sedro Woolley team camp and tournament. It attended last year for the first time.
“We’re ready,” Coach Little said. “We’re excited. This is a fun trip.”
After Sedro Woolley, the Huskies will travel to Reno, Nev., for a 64-team tournament.
The Husky varsity includes seniors Alex Ritzman, Matt Morneault, Andy Worley, Aaron Forquer and Mark Lewis and juniors Cody Shipp, Charlie Fitzsimons, Ryan Elliott, Brandon Smith, Tim Faulconer and Derrek Ward.