Huskies continue their upward swing

Sherman freshman Luke Martin chalked it up to playing with more intensity and playing up to their capabilities.

“We started out a little slow, but we got together and started working a little bit harder in practices and now it’s starting to flow for us,” Martin said. “I think it was the Horizon game (a 69-39 win on Jan. 8 in Hood River) when we saw that we really could compete with good teams. We started to realize that we can play up to our full potential.”

In all, the Huskies had 10 different players hit the scoresheet, led by junior guard Max Martin, who hit the final two 3-pointers in the first quarter to give his team a 20-12 advantage through the opening quarter.

Sherman then increased its lead in the second quarter, with seven points from Jacob Justesen, three from Isaiah Coles and two each from Max Martin and Maverick Winslow for a 14-9 run and 34-21 halftime lead.

Then the Huskies used pressure defense at the start of the third quarter and put the Knights on their heels, forcing turnovers to set up the transition game.

Max Martin had 10 points and Justesen added eight to complete a 27-7 run to put Condon-Wheeler away.

“I like our transition game. I think we excel at it,” said Sherman coach Bill Blevins. “If we can get into a full-court pace, we like to do that, because it allows us to break away from the opposing teams. We put a lot of pressure on the backcourt and played a full court game and we were able to capitalize on their mistakes.”

Max Martin hit seven 3-pointers for his game-high 27 points, four of his long balls came in the opening period.

Justesen added 19 points, Treve Martin poured in eight and Alex Fields posted six points.

Coles, who had a third-quarter dunk, ended his day with five points, as Sherman hit on 30 field goals, 10 3-pointers and shot 8 of 14 from the line.

Cade MacInnes led with 14 points, Bryce Harrison added 10 and Zach Rutherford was good for eight points for the Knights, who hit 17 field goals, nine in the second half, and went 5 of 9 from the line.

It may have taken some time to get all of the players on the same page with roles established and players finding their groove, but Blevins said there is still a long way to go in the regular season.

“I think that they are playing with the kind of intensity that we need to be a very good team,” Blevins said.

“I think earlier in the season, we weren’t playing as hard, as aggressive, boxing out like we needed to do. I feel that the players are starting to understand that if they intend on reaching the goals they have set for themselves, they needed to amp it up a bit. They have taken on that challenge and are playing hard.”

Sherman (12-4 overall, 7-0 league) has a tough set of games this coming week, starting tonight against the 2A’s No. 12-ranked Stanfield Tigers (12-3).

At 7:30 p.m. Friday, the Huskies head to Ione for a Big Sky matchup, and then finish the weekend with a home game against Horizon Christian School at 5:30 p.m. Saturday.

“It is a big week. I think they are all big weeks at this point as we get into the second half of the season,” Blevins said. “We really just need to play with discipline and we need to play with intensity and we need to block out. I think if we do those things, we will be O.K.”