Inspired Huskies vault into semifinals

Since surgery in November, Fields sandwiched rehabilitation, workouts and practices with his teammates with hopes of making a comeback.

The early prognosis was out for the season, but the junior kept believing.

Thursday, he finally had his chance to shine.

“The feeling was unlike any other. I can’t put into words how happy I was getting the chance to play with such good teammates,” Fields said. “I wasn’t sure of it, but I was wishing and hoping every day I would get the chance to play again. I was working hard every day and just followed doctors’ orders and did everything I could to get back in shape. I was working hard every day.”

Sparked by a 12 for 24 shooting effort in the opening half, the Huskies used runs of 22-11 and 13-12 to jump ahead 35-23 at the half.

As the fouls mounted, Siletz Valley started inching closer and closer with Angel DeAnda serving as the spark with his three 3-pointers.

Challenging a 41-26 Sherman lead in the first minute of the third quarter, DeAnda capped a 12-4 run with a 3-pointer to get the Warriors to 45-38.

A layup by DeAnda made it a 49-42 score at the two-minute mark, but Max Martin added a rebound and a putback, and Isaiah Coles had another putback at the buzzer to move the Huskies in front, 53-42 entering the fourth quarter.

Dan Lindstrom scored on a layup to get the Warriors to a 55-47 in the first minute of the fourth quarter, and the Huskies added a 9-3 spurt in a two-minute span, as Keenan Coles hit back-to-back hoops to increase Sherman’s lead to 64-50.

Fields’ return would be felt late, as both Treve Martin and Jacob Justesen exited action due to fouls.

In the final 3:32 seconds of regulation with the Huskies ahead 66-52, Fields, Max Martin and Isaiah Coles went a combined 7 of 11 from the line, Siletz Valley shot 1 of its last 8 from the field and committed a turnover, allowing Sherman to seal a 73-56 win.

“Getting the first win out of the way feels really good, but we can’t be happy with just the one win,” said Treve Martin. “We want to achieve our goal and, in the end, that’s going to take two games and everything we have left in the tank.”

Max Martin had 23 points, five rebounds and three steals, Justesen added 16 points and 13 rebounds, and Isaiah Coles tallied 15 points and 10 rebounds for the Huskies, who shot 27 of 52 from the field, 5 of 11 from 3-point range, and went 14 of 25 from the line.

Maverick Winslow had 10 points, Keenan Coles went for four and Fields had three points.

“This game meant a lot more to me than any other game I’ve ever played in,” Fields said. “I get to play with such good teammates and, not to mention, it was the first game back after surgery. In addition to that, it was our first game of the state tourney. It was a big confidence boost and it helped me get my feet back under me.”

Siletz Valley made good on 20 of 62 from the floor and went 11 of 23 from the line, as Lindstrom led with 20 points and seven boards.

DeAnda, who had first-half foul troubles, had 15 points, Ty Sjostrom went for eight and Dion Napoleon scored five points.

With one win, the Huskies (24-4 overall) look to vault into the title game after a semifinal contest at 8:15 p.m. tonight against Nixyaawii (26-1).

Both teams are currently riding long winning streaks entering tonight’s clash.

The Huskies have won 19 games in a row, while the Golden Eagles are on a 20-game streak.

On Dec. 7 in Mission, Angel Corona had 27 points, Nixyaawii sank 12 3-pointers in all and outscored the Huskies 69-35 over the final three quarters to pick up a 79-48 win.

“Nixyaawii is a great team and we will really need to find a way to contain them from driving and kicking out for wide open 3s,” said Sherman coach Bill Blevins. “I’ll be watching film tonight to come up with a better defensive game plan than we had last time playing at Nixyaawii back in December.”