South Wasco County senior Tony Holliday (front) skies to the rim while Horizon Christian’s Mason Bloomster defends in their Big Sky matchup played Friday. The No. 1-ranked Hawks wound up with the 58-23 win.
South Wasco County senior Tony Holliday (front) skies to the rim while Horizon Christian’s Mason Bloomster defends in their Big Sky matchup played Friday. The No. 1-ranked Hawks wound up with the 58-23 win.
HERMISTON — Earlier in the year, the South Wasco County Redsides played a nip-and-tuck first half against top-ranked Horizon Christian only to lose by double digits in the end.
It was déjà vu Friday, as the No. 1-ranked Hawks broke open a six-point halftime lead with a 37-8 second-half run on their way to a lopsided 58-23 Big Sky boys' basketball triumph in district semifinal play at Hermiston High School.
"They were able to get some turnovers and turn those into transition points," said SWC head coach Jim Hull on Horizon's second-half surge. "We didn't give up many of those in the first half. Once they got those turnovers, the lead went from six to 14 or 16 and then you kind of could tell that we lost our edge after that. They took control of the game from there."
It appeared the hawks were going to run away with matters in the first quarter, as they held leads of 6-0, 10-2 and 14-2.
At the buzzer, Redsides senior Colton Nannini buried a 3-pointer to make it 14-5 entering the second quarter.
SWC used back-to-back jumpers by Loreot Morelli to creep to within a 14-9 deficit with five minutes and 17 seconds left, but RJ Hicks drained a hook shot and Ryan Aldrich hit two free throws to run the spread to 18-9.
Morelli then hit consecutive baskets on assists by Brody Myers to bring the Redsides to an 18-13 deficit at the 52-second mark.
Jared Davis hit a layup and a foul shot to move the Hawks to a 21-13 lead, but Myers capped the first-half scoring with a rebound and an outback at the buzzer to cut the Horizon lead to 21-15 at halftime.
If not for a handful of missed layups and inside shots, the Redsides could have had the lead, but those missed chances opened the door for Horizon in the second half.
The Hawk defense held South Wasco County to baskets by Morelli and Ellis Rager. When going the other way, the Hawks made layups and hit shots to pull away.
Davis led all scorers with 19 points, 14 coming in the second half. Mason Bloomster added 15 points and Aldrich tallied six points, as Horizon hit 24 field goals, one from 3-point territory and went 9 for 9 from the free throw line.
For a team that has a state championship and a pair of second-place state outcomes, the focus has been on gradual progression down the stretch.
"We came into districts with the mindset that this was a business trip,” said Horizon head coach Darrin Lingel. “We talked to the kids about our approach of taking it one game at a time. Our record prior to this district tournament was 0-0, so we have not done anything. All we did was play for seeding. Now we are 1-0. So, we have to come out tomorrow (Saturday) against a Sherman team that is very talented. We have to come out and show the same effort we showed here tonight in the second half. I feel that if we do that and we stick to what we do best, we will be ok."
In all, the Redsides had nine field goals and went 4 for 9 from the free throw line. Morelli had 12 points, Nannini had four and the trio of Dawson Herlocker, Myers and Rager had two points each.
Even with the loss, the playoffs were still well within reach for a Redside team that entered Friday's game as winners of four of their last five games.
"All is not lost. I told them that they were one game from being in the state playoffs. It is a great opportunity," said coach Hull. "We want to grab hold of it and give it our best effort. We are not going to be afraid of failure tomorrow (Saturday). What we are going to do instead is give it the best effort we can. If that happens for us, we are ready to go."
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