By Mike Warner
For The New Era
Lebanon’s boys and girls basketball teams have finished the first half of the Mid-Willamette Conference schedule and started the second half of the league season Tuesday, Feb. 3.
After a win over South Albany, the boys came into this week 5-4 in the MWC, tied for fourth. The girls are 5-3, which put them in sole possession of fourth place entering the second half.
Both teams are eyeing post-season play down the road.
Post-season participation will be determined by their conference record and their Oregon School Activities Association (OSAA) state rankings.
The were ranked 11th coming into this week, while the boys were 20th.
The boys start the second half traveling to McKay, while the girls have no conference foe this week as McKay has no girls program. However, the Warrior girls will travel to Stayton, last year’s 4A state champion, currently ranked second in the state. The game will not be included in the conference record but will be considered in the state rankings.
Boys
The Warriors hosted South Albany Friday, Jan. 30, winning in commanding fashion, 51-34.
It was the second consecutive win for the Warriors, who had suffered four tough loses in a row. The victory gave Lebanon 5-4 MWC record, in a tie fourth at the close of the first half of conference play.
Lebanon starts the second half of the conference schedule against McKay on Friday.
The Warriors’ tenacious defense took command early and the Warriors led 14-10 at the end of the first quarter. That lead continued to grow with Lebanon leading 30-16 at the half, then grew to 43-27 by the end of the third quarter.
The Warriors played solid offense, shooting 40% from the field (16-40) and 30% (6-20) from three. Again, free throw shooting was strong as they sank 13 of 16 attempts from the line for 81.3% .
Lebanon was led by Logan Large with 17 points, along with nine rebounds, four steals and four assists. Gunner Miller had a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. He also had five assists. Finn VandenBos added eight points and Ryan Robinson added seven.
Lebanon 68, Crescent Valley 59
At Crescent Valley on Tuesday, Lebanon had an opportunity to break a fifth-place tie as both teams were sitting at 3-4 in league.
With post-season play looming on the horizon, the Warriors won a tough-fought duel, 68-59.
The game was as close as advertised. Neither team established a sizable lead and the game was tied at the end of the first and second quarters. Lebanon held a two-point lead at the end of the third quarter. The Warriors were able to take command in the fourth stretching their lead to nine at the end.
Lebanon shot very well from the field 44.9% (22-49). Three-point shooting was not on par at 21.1% (4-19). However, their saving grace was from the free throw line, where the Warriors shot 89% (20-24)!. Their 22 made baskets came from 13 assists.
Leading contributors were Large, who scored 22 points and collected six rebounds, along with three assists. Robinson added 22 points and collected seven rebounds, while Miller added 14 points, pulled down seven boards and dished out five assists. VandenBos added eight points and three assists.
Up next for the Warriors is their endowment game at Stayton Feb. 3, followed by a trip to Woodburn on Friday, Feb. 6.
Girls best Crescent Valley on the road
Lebanon’s girls hosted South Albany Friday, Jan. 30, which offered an opportunity for the Warriors to move up in the MWC, as South sat in second place at 7-1 coming into this week, one game behind league leader West Albany (8-0).
Unfortunately for Lebanon, it didn’t work out as South exited with a 78-53 win.
The game was close early on, South leading 38-30 at the half.
But the Redhawks took complete control in the third quarter, outscoring their hosts 23-10 to build a 61-40 advantage going into the fourth quarter.
The Warriors were able slow things down in the fourth quarter, but the damage was already done.
The Redhawks out-rebounded Lebanon by 10 and forced 16 turnovers.
However, there were a few bright spots for the Warriors. They shot 35.7% (15-42) from the field, 42.8% (6-14) from three-point land and 80.9% (17-21) from the free throw line.
Coach Andrew Evans said his team “needed to be tougher going forward.”
The Warriors were paced by Peyton Vorderstrasse, who scored 14 points, collected three rebounds and had four assists. Piper Sewell added 12 points and two rebounds. Hazel Pepperling led the Warrior scoring with 18 points and collected seven rebounds and had three steals.
Lebanon 54, Crescent Valley 50
At Crescent Valley on Jan. 27, Lebanon faced a team that had just beaten crosstown rivals Corvallis the previous Friday and were right in the middle of the league standings.
The Warriors escaped with a 54-50 win after a rough-and-tumble contest in which no one had a commanding lead until the end.
Lebanon started fast and led 14-8 at the end of the first quarter.
Crescent Valley came storming back in the second quarter, outscoring the Warriors 20-9 to build a 28-23 halftime lead. The third quarter was even as both teams scored 14 points to allow the Raiders to take a five-point lead into the fourth quarter, 42-37.
But that’s when Lebanon took control of the game, outscoring Crescent Valley by nine, 17-8, in the final period to win by four.
“In the fourth quarter we really had to take it to them,” Vordrstrasse said. “We picked up our aggression and made our press work.”
The Warriors shot well from the field – 36.4% (20-55) – but not from the three-point line, 11.8% (2-17). Their saving grace came from the free throw line where they shot 86.7% (12-14).
Three Warriors shouldered the scoring load as Vorderstrasse had 15 points, five rebounds, four assists, two steals and two blocks. Sewell had 15 points, eight rebounds, four assists and a steal. Pepperling chipped in twelve points, seven rebounds, and five steals.
