SHERMAN point guard Jacob Justesen takes a jump shot ahead of the defense of The Dalles’ Dakota Murr in a pool play hoops game Thursday at the Sherman County Tournament in Moro. Sherman won 78-43.
SHERMAN point guard Jacob Justesen takes a jump shot ahead of the defense of The Dalles’ Dakota Murr in a pool play hoops game Thursday at the Sherman County Tournament in Moro. Sherman won 78-43.
MORO – Through two games at the Sherman County Basketball Tournament in Moro, the Sherman Huskies are 2-0 with wins over The Dalles and Sunnyside Christian High by an average margin of victory of 24 points.
Against The Dalles, Max Martin and Isaiah Coles scored 15 points apiece, and Jacob Justesen added 12, as the Huskies broke open a 12-5 lead and added a 34-11 run in the final 14 minutes and 48 seconds of the first half on their way to a 78-43 victory.
In all, 10 different players hit field goals, with reserve players Luke Lawrence, Alex Fields and Keenan Coles coming off the bench to chip in a combined 19 points.
So far, the Huskies have played 20 of their 35 scheduled summer league games and the offense has maintained its consistency with contributions from several players.
Kyle Fields said the offseason emphasis is on stopping the opposition.
“During summer league, we have been working on defense, defense, defense,” said Kyle, who scored eight points versus The Dalles. “We are a pretty good offensive group and that will come to us. We just have to work on playing smart, making good decisions and playing as a team.”
For The Dalles, Dakota Murr, who was closely guarded in the first half by Martin scored a team-high 15 points.
Eight of those points came in the first half, five against Martin, the other three came at the first-half buzzer with Sherman already well ahead and Martin on the bench.
Tony Piza added seven points and Jacob Wetmore had five points, as the Riverhawks had field goals from six players.
In their nightcap game Thursday, Martin dropped 27 points and Isaiah Coles added 24 to pace the Huskies in a 70-57 win over Sunnyside Christian.
Martin drained five 3-pointers and a pair of two-point shots for 19 points to lead the Huskies to a 37-21 halftime advantage.
Justesen tacked on 10 points and Fields added nine to round out the Sherman scorers.
“We just have a lot of fun playing together and that helps us in every game,” Fields said. “We play unselfish ball. We make the extra passes and get it to an open man for an easier shot.”
Last season, Sherman advanced to Baker City, but ran into a virus that decimated the entire roster.
The Huskies lost 50-40 to eventual state champion Country Christian to drop into the consolation rounds.
Sherman’s playoff run was cut short the next morning in a 58-53 game versus Yoncalla. Although the Huskies won 21 games and earned their first Baker berth in three years.
“It puts a fire in our belly definitely to come out and play hard, work hard every game and put in work, so we can have a good regular season,” Fields said.
A little past the midway point to the summer, Sherman coach Bill Blevins said he has seen a lot of positive things from his club.
It is the other part of the game, he wants to iron out.
“Our goal is on-ball defense. Sometimes we go for the fake when we should stay down and be disciplined. I think we have some defensive discipline things that we really need to work on,” the Husky coach said. “On the other hand, offensively, I am really liking the groove that we are in. I think after running the same kind of system for the past two years, I think we are really starting to understand the nuances of the offense, so that is good. So, defensively, we have some goals to meet.”
In other pool play games played Thursday, Walla Walla Valley Adventist defeated Triangle Lake by a 61-55 score.
Sunnyside cruised past Rogue Valley Adventist 62-42, Rogue Valley defeated Triangle Lake by a 61-57 score and Walla Walla beat Rogue Valley 60-57.
Action continues today through Sunday with the championship at 2:15 p.m.
Commented
Sorry, there are no recent results for popular commented articles.