BAKER CITY – Since a young age, veteran members of the Sherman Huskies were earmarked as the next crop of athletes to bring multiple state championships to the sports programs.
Those expectations put a level of pressure on them to meet or exceed those goals.
If the boys’ basketball team could capture title No. 2 Saturday, the weight of the world would be lifted off their shoulders.
A loss?
Missed opportunities.
In front of a capacity crowd at Baker City High School in the 1A state basketball championship game, the Huskies fulfilled those lifelong aspirations of capturing a 1A state title, their second straight, in a 78-57 victory over Powder Valley.
“If we wouldn’t have won, I would have felt like my high school career was incomplete. I absolutely do,” said senior Isaiah Coles. “We put that pressure on ourselves that we could come out and win. If we had that opportunity, we had to take it. If we came out here, knowing that we could win and then somehow were not able complete our goals, it would have been pretty tough to get past that.”
Sherman, the No. 1 seed, had double-digit leads throughout the first and second half, but the seventh-seeded Badgers, who defeated Days Creek and Jordan Valley to get to the final, would not give up quite so easily.
As it appeared Powder Valley would turn the tables, the Huskies, however, answered back with a rally of their own to keep their opponents at bay.
“There were a couple of times, where I felt like the kids had an opportunity to put the game away, but to Powder Valley’s credit, they dug in and got some things done,” said Sherman head coach Bill Blevins. “They made some runs and got it back to within striking distance. We would then show our resolve and make the necessary plays to keep our leads.”
In the opening half, Sherman had a 26-15 advantage through one quarter and, after a Treve Martin hook shot made it a 44-26 score, Isaac Colton hit a 3-pointer to get the Badgers to within a 44-29 halftime deficit.
Back-to-back layups by Coles gave the Huskies a 52-33 cushion at the midway point of the third quarter, but Powder Valley finished the period on a 13-6 run, capped by a 3-pointer by Brogun Tibbitts, followed by a steal and a layup from Colton, making it a 58-46 Husky lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Powder’s Gus McGinn hit a field goal in the first 29 seconds of the final period made it 58-48, and over the next two minutes, Coles scored a pair of baskets, Max Martin added a running bank shot and after a putback by Powder’s Cade Browne, Martin increased the Husky lead to 66-50 on a layup with 5:40 left in regulation.
Maverick Winslow dropped a baseline jumper at the 4:37 mark to give Sherman a 69-52 advantage, and on Powders’ next possession, Colton drained a 3-pointer to get the Badgers to within 69-55.
Over the last 4:21, the Huskies used a 9-2 spurt on field goals by Winslow, Kyle Fields, Treve Martin, two free throws from Max Martin and 1 of 2 free throws by Makoa Whitaker.
“We have been here before. That was actually our eighth game here in Baker, so we have been here before and we know what it is like,” said senior guard Max Martin. “Powder Valley is a scrappy team. They never gave up. When they went on one of their runs, we knew we were going to be fine as long as we executed. We knew what we needed to do. We played tougher and hustled a little more on defense and we put the pressure on them down here on offense as well.”
The Huskies, who beat North Douglas and Perrydale in their first two state games, shot 33 of 60 from the field, 3 of 13 from 3-point territory, and made 9 of 15 free throws.
Colton paced the Badgers with 17 points, four rebounds and five steals, Browne tallied 14 points and Tibbitts added nine points, as the team hit on 21 of 56 field goals, 6 of 22 on 3-pointers, and converted 9 of from the line.
Coles led with 21 points and added seven rebounds, Max Martin went off for 20 points, nine boards, four assists and three steals, and Treve Martin added 15 points and seven rebounds, as the Huskies dominated the boards by a 44-22 margin, 13 of those rebounds on the offensive end.
Fields scored eight points and pulled down five rebounds, and Jacob Justesen, Sherman’s Player of the Game, notched nine points, 10 rebounds, eight assists and three steals.
Max Martin finishes his career with six consecutive wins in Baker City, two Big Sky titles, all-league and all-state accolades and Player of the Year awards.
His journey is complete.
“Winning one was special, but it means even more to us to win this one because we have established a legacy here,” Martin said. “It is rewarding to know that we accomplished something special here with this group of guys. Right now, I can’t even describe it. It is a lot of fun to be a part of all of this.”
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