Sweet Home’s boys basketball team won one game and lost two at the Stayton Holiday Classic Tournament last week.
The Huskies beat Central 44-39 on Tuesday, Dec. 28, then lost to W.F. West of Washington 59-35 Wednesday, before falling to hosts Stayton 64-57 in overtime after Stayton came from behind to force the extra period.
Sweet Home 44, Central 39
The Huskies held the Panthers to 14 points in the second half in a game that, other than a couple of five- to six-minute stretches in the middle of the first and second quarters, Sweet Home pretty much dominated, Coach Kostanty Knurowski said.
“Any time you can hold a team to 39 points, you should win the game,” he said.
With regular starter Robert Rubidoux out sick, Jeremy White took the initiative, scoring nine points and providing a “sparkplug” for the team on both ends, Knurowski said.
Gavin Kauffman led the Huskies with 17 points.
Central 15 10 6 8 39
Sweet Home 13 7 11 13 44
Central: Tanner Omlid 14, Padilla 9, Braa-Stanley 4, McArdle 4, Wylie 4, Lindley 2, Cutsforth 2. 17 4-15 39
Sweet Home: Gavin Kauffman 17, White 9, Mauch 6, Felkins 6, Vandenberg 4, Kim 2, Morgan, Webb, Winslow. 18 5-11 44.
W.F. West 59, Sweet Home 35
Against W.F. West, a 2A team from Chehalis, Wash., the Huskies faced “probably one of the best teams we have seen this year,” Knurowski said. “They were a pretty talented team.”
The Huskies weren’t helped by the fact that they didn’t shoot well the entire game and had trouble attacking West’s zone, trailing 23-11 at the half.
Sweet Home revived a bit in the third quarter, cutting West’s lead to six before the Bearcats pulled away down the stretch.
“We couldn’t get our offense going and we got frustrated on defense and it kind of snowballed on us at the end,” Knurowski said.
Taylor Mauch was the leading scorer for Sweet Home with seven points.
W. F. West went on to lose in overtime to Tillamook in the championship game.
W.F. West 10 13 16 20 59
Sweet Home 7 4 14 10 35
W.F. West: Brock Wade 14, Wilson 11, Khan 10, Gueller 8, Flynn 6, Robertson 5, Rothlin 3, Perez 2, Coleman, Norman. 24 8-14 59.
Sweet Home: Taylor Mauch 7, Morgan 5, Felkins 5, White 4, Kauffman 4, Rubidoux 3, Vandenberg 3, Kim 2, Webb 2, Ja. Rice, Ju. Rice, Lloyd, Winslow. 11 10-17 35.
Stayton 64, Sweet Home 57
The Huskies didn’t play particularly well to start the game and found themselves down 27-14 against the Eagles early in the second half, but revived to close the gap to 27-20 at halftime.
In the third quarter, Sweet Home broke loose in what was “the best defense we’ve played all year,” Knurowski said. The Huskies held Stayton to eight points in the third period and just missed a lay-up at the buzzer that would have tied the score at 35.
In the fourth quarter Sweet Home let the Eagles back into the game with a few defensive breakdowns and some poor shooting at the free-throw line kept them from putting the hosts away.
“We were not overly efficient from the free-throw line and that hurt us,” Knurowski said.
But he said the Huskies “played with composure and even when we let them get back in, we stepped up and made a couple of plays.
“Stayton is very experienced,” he said. “They didn’t panic when they were down. It’s good for us to be in that high-pressure environment. I think it will help us in league play.”
Kauffman had a big game for the Huskies, scoring 32 points, and Cody Felkins added 12.
The Huskies, 5-5, host Cascade at 7 p.m. Friday and then will host Philomath Tuesday, Jan. 11, before opening league play against Sisters, also at home, on Friday, Jan, 14.
Stayton 15 12 8 18 11 64
SH 9 11 13 20 4 57
Stayton: Coby Proctor 26, Hack 13, Brown 8, T. Johnson 7, Wallen 5, Scott 4, W. Johnson 1, Abdou. 19 20-24 64.
Sweet Home: Gavin Kauffman 32, Felkins 12, Mauch 7, Morgan 3, White 2, Vandenberg 1, Kim, Rubidoux, Webb, Winslow. 22 8-15 57.