Sweet Home 50
North Marion 37
Sweet Home defense gave the North Marion Huskies a bunch of problems Friday night as the Sweet Home boys handed the North Marion boys a 50-37 loss at Sweet Home.
“We came out pretty intense,” Coach Risen said. His team set four goals or keys for the game and met them all.
The first was to come out and play 32 minutes with intensity, Coach Risen said. He felt there was just a bit of a lull at the end of the third quarter when Sweet Home held a 19-point lead over North Marion.
The second was to play pressure defense, deny their passes and put the pressure on full court. The Huskies did all three well, Coach Risen said. The third key was to push the ball up in transition, and the fourth was to move the North Marion defense around if it got set up. The Huskies were to hold their attack and patiently work the offense. Again, they did what they set out to do.
The Huskies took a 13-6 lead at the beginning and never looked back. By halftime, they had built a 25-12 lead, stretching it to 39-23 by the end of the third quarter.
North Marion ran a triangle and two targeting Kevin Furry and Nik Walker and surprising Coach Risen, who had anticipated a box and one. To answer, the Huskies took North Marion’s challenge and turned to Anthony Mink, Sam Posthuma and Aaron Hegge, who turned in a combined 36 points.
“We’re not just two guys,” Coach Risen said. “We’re a team. It was really fun to see these guys come up and play that way.”
The Huskies set a program record with 11 blocks, seven of them Hegge’s, Friday night. Also a testament to their relentless defense were four received charges.
“It was good to shake off a tough road loss (Stayton, 57-56),” Coach Risen said. “We imposed our style on it.”
The Huskies were aggressive on both ends of the court and controlled the game start to finish, which is what they will need to do to be on top at the end of league next month, Coach Risen said.
Mink led the Huskies with 14 points. Posthuma added 12; Hegge, 10; Walker, seven; Furry, five; and Ricky Howe, two. Josh Miller led North Marion with 14. Brent Kahle added 12.
Friday’s game was a sharp contrast to the Huskies’ matchup with Stayton Jan. 15 in Stayton.
“We didn’t play well the first 20 minutes,” Coach Risen said. “I thought we came out flat,” with a couple of guys flat the whole game.
Howe was the key to a comeback that would dig the Huskies out of a hole and into overtime.
Howe sparked the Huskies into action in the third quarter, Coach Risen said. Coach Risen had challenged the sophomores to step up at halftime after playing a poor first half.
Mink was fighting foul trouble, eventually fouling out with about three minutes left in the game. Tim Matuszak was out sick, so Coach Risen called on Howe.
Playing out of position, at wing instead of post, Howe hit two shots right off the bat in the third. He scored 10 points in the second half of the game and played remarkable defense.
Fired up with about a minute left in the third, the Huskies began forcing turnovers. Their efforts netted them seven forced turnovers. Down 11 at that point. They up two points with two minutes left in the game.
“At that point, Stayton answered, and it was going right down to the wire,” Coach Risen said. Joe Kiser hit two clutch free throws. Howe tried to end the game with a three from the corner at two seconds but missed.
In overtime, 47-47, the two teams traded hoops. Stayton shot a three to go up by three followed up by pair of free throws from Posthuma. Stayton hit a pair of free throws to go ahead by three. Walker scored with 10 seconds left but missed a shot on the buzzer to take the game.
“I just wish we played with the kind of intensity we’re capable of playing all 32 minutes,” Coach Risen said. Coming out flat, the Huskies dug a deep hole, but Coach Risen was pleased with the work the team did digging itself back out of the hole and putting itself into positions to win the game.
Walker led the Huskies with 27 points. Howe scored 10; Hegge, eight; Posthuma, six; Furry, three; and Mink, two. Joe Kiser scored 14 to lead Stayton. Jake Miller added 11.
The Huskies are 10-5 overall and 3-1 in league.
Standings
Stayton 4-0
Sweet Home 3-1
Cascade 2-2
Central 2-3
Molalla 2-3
North Marion 1-4
Sisters 0-4