SHERMAN coach Bill Blevins (right) offers instructions to his team during the first half of Saturday’s 1A Big Sky boy’s basketball game versus South Wasco County. The Huskies hit 31 field goals in a 76-66 win.
SHERMAN coach Bill Blevins (right) offers instructions to his team during the first half of Saturday’s 1A Big Sky boy’s basketball game versus South Wasco County. The Huskies hit 31 field goals in a 76-66 win.
Isaiah Coles scored nine of his 21 points in the fourth quarter, as the No. 6-ranked Sherman Huskies broke open a 55-52 fourth-quarter lead with a 21-14 run in the final seven minutes and 14 seconds to preserve a 76-66 victory over South Wasco County Saturday in a Big Sky basketball contest played in Moro.
With the loss, the Redsides are the fourth seed in league, just two games behind Horizon Christian and one game in back of Dufur and Sherman.
“What we got from the game in the end is the knowledge that it was a competitive game,” said South Wasco county head coach Jim Hull. “Sherman is a great team and we can be there in the end. In looking at the way the district is lining up, it is going to require us to beat one of those three other teams (Sherman, Dufur and Horizon Christian). We are working towards that.”
SWC, who trailed by 10 points in the first half, fought back in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter with a free throw from Loreto Morelli making it a 55-52 game.
Sherman (8-2 overall, 3-1 league) bounced back with consecutive baskets from Jacob Justesen and a layup and a foul shot from Coles to make it 62-54 with 6:45 left.
Austin Kaseberg hit a layup with less than four minutes remaining to increase the Husky lead to 69-59, but Redside point guard Tony Holliday came back with a jumper and a foul shot to inch his team to within 69-61 with 3:04 left.
Kyle Fields and Coles hit baskets and the Huskies went 3 for 5 from the line in the final moments to lock up the 10 point win.
“Hand it to South Wasco. They played with a ton of energy,” said Sherman coach Bill Blevins. “They executed well and hit some tough, tough shots. They played scrappy and made us work for everything we got.”
The Huskies made good on 31 field goals, six from 3-point territory and added an 8 of 16 stretch from the free throw line.
Kaseberg and Justesen had 18 points each, Fields added nine and Treve Martin scored five points for the Huskies, who are now 4-0 at home.
Holliday led the Redsides (6-6, 2-2) with 16 points and Devan Dammann checked in with a season-high 15 points.
Ellis Rager had 10 points, Brody Myers hit on six points and Travis Hayes scored four for SWC, which had 24 field goals, five from long range and an 11 for 18 effort from the line.
“They gave a lot of attention to Travis, so it fell down on our other players to step up to be a little more active,” Hull said. “It was good to see that. It was good to see Devan finding his game. It is just another little piece for us down the road.”
With the Huskies now on a run of six wins in the past seven games, coach Blevins is looking towards executing better in the post and playing tougher on-ball defense.
It is still a roster of five underclassmen he has, so Blevins knows there will be many teachable moments through the rest of the schedule.
“I think I need to remember that we are a young team. We still have a lot to learn,” the Sherman coach said. “Even with their age, we still have high expectations and they have high expectations for themselves. I like this group. They have the want to work hard and continue to get better. We do need to get better at the defensive end if we want to compete at a level that we feel we are capable of competing at.”
Sherman next travels to Dufur (7-4, 3-1) at 7:30 p.m. Friday.
For the No. 20-ranked Redsides, they host No. 1 Horizon Christian (11-2, 3-0) at 7:30 p.m. Friday.
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