PAGE A10, KEIZERTIMES, JANUARY 22, 2016
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McNaught to join Pirates
By ERIC A. HOWALD
Of the Keizertimes
Kinsey McNaught had a
very different vision for her
college career.
“I wanted a big, huge
school far away from home,”
said McNaught, a McNary
High School senior and soft-
ball player.
Then the reasons to stay
closer to home started piling
up.
It started when coaches at
Spokane’s Whitworth Univer-
sity asked to meet her while
they were out scouting other
talent in Portland.
“They were awesome peo-
ple. They asked me to come
up for a visit. I got to see the
facilities and talk with some of
the people and that hooked
me even more. My family
loved it, too. The next day, the
coach invited my family to
Please see MCNAUGHT,
Page A11
Aguilar picks LCC Titans
By ERIC A. HOWALD
Of the Keizertimes
McNary High School se-
nior Matt Aguilar set his sights
on playing college baseball at a
young age.
“I played for KYSA and
winning a state title made me
push myself that much hard-
er,” said Aguilar.
On Friday, Jan. 15, Aguilar
signed a letter of intent to play
for Lane Community College,
taking the next step in his dia-
mond journey.
“It means everything,” said
Aguilar, “I’ve been working
toward this since I was a little
kid.”
Aguilar started out his Mc-
Nary varsity career as a fresh-
man pinch running for the
elder players in the program.
By his junior year, he was the
starting shortstop for the team,
a role he is expected to reprise
this season.
“We have baseball players
and kids who play baseball,
both are important, but Matt
is a baseball player,” said Larry
Keeker, McNary head coach.
“It’s because of the time and
energy and effort he dedicates
in the offseason to becoming a
Please see AGUILAR, Page A11
Boys escape Titan onslaught
BY ERIC A. HOWALD
Of the Keizertimes
The McNary High School
boys varsity basketball team
survived – barely – an en-
counter with the West Salem
High School Titans to take
sole control of second place
in the Greater Valley Confer-
ence.
McNary had two leads in
the game, a 2-0 lead to start
and a 71-70 lead with six sec-
onds left in the game Tuesday,
Jan. 12.
“West Salem always plays
us tough and they were lights
out from beyond the arc. We
just battled back and stayed
composed,” said Celt Trent
Van Cleave.
The Titans hit 15 of 23
trey attempts in their bid to
topple the Celtics. McNary’s
win was in no small part due
to an exceptional game by
Harry Cavell, who poured
in 30 points including the
game-winning lay-in.
“West had one more op-
portunity on a three-pointer
that was in and out, but we
held on,” said Ryan Kirch,
McNary head coach. “We
had to win ugly and gut
things out despite some inju-
ries, but we got the job done.”
While fi ve points sepa-
rated the two teams after the
fi rst period, West extended its
lead to 41-32 at the half. The
Celtics still trailed by nine
points after three, but the
Keizer team outscored the
Titans 21-11 in the fourth
quarter for the win.
Celt Cade Goff had 14
points and Adam Harvey had
12.
“They executed on of-
fense, but we persevered and
stayed with them through the
game,” said Easton Neitzel.
With 3:30 to go in Mc-
Nary’s follow-up game with
McKay High School Friday,
Jan. 15, the only question
unanswered was whether the
team could crack 100 points.
They did, with a 102-70 vic-
tory.
While the game felt cha-
otic at times, the Celts never
relinquished their lead after
the fi rst quarter.
KEIZERTIMES/Eric A. Howald
Celt Wyatt Grine, who scored the 100th point in McNary’s game with McKay High School Friday,
Jan. 15, lays up a shot earlier in the same game.
“McKay is very athletic
and their strategy is to create
chaos and try to get you to
turn the ball over,” said Kirch.
“I thought we handled that
pressure well by playing fast
and not out-of-control.”
The Celts had a 48-31
lead at halftime.
“We really wanted to at-
tack their press and score ev-
ery time. That was our goal
and I think we did it pretty
well,” Van Cleave said.
The Celtic effort was
helped by a number of three-
pointers by Neitzel who got
the team within spitting dis-
tance of the 100-point mark.
“The last three games I
struggled and I felt I owed
it to my team to get back on
track and I think I was able to
do that tonight,” Neitzel said.
With a lay-in in the fi nal
minutes, Celt Hayden Sader
put McNary up 99-64, but
then the team hit a brief
scoring drought as the crowd
By ERIC A. HOWALD
Of the Keizertimes
McNary High School’s
girls varsity basketball team
took sole possession of sec-
ond place in the Greater Val-
ley Conference with a 53-42
win over West Salem High
School Tuesday, Jan. 12.
“We really wanted it and
we came out with a lot of
fi re and it paid off,” said Lady
Celt Madi Hingston. “I think
we executed really well of-
fensively and defensively and
the fl ow from one to the oth-
er was good.”
Hingston, a senior, and
Sydney Hunter, a McNary
junior, scored 19 points each
en route to the win. It was
also Hunter’s third double-
double in as many games.
The Titans had a one-point
lead after one quarter, but the
Celtics clamped down on de-
fense in the second frame and
outscored West 10-4. As the
teams retired to the locker
rooms for halftime, McNary
had a 22-17 lead.
“Our transition worked
really well and we got up the
court really quick and we
fi nished well,” said McNary’s
Paige Downer.
The Celts outscored the
Titans 31-25 in the second
half to take the win.
The outing was the Keizer
team’s most complete game
effort in almost a month, said
Derick Handley, McNary
head coach.
“West came out fi ring and
we played with them the en-
tire game. Our defense was
fantastic all night and we did
a great job of rebounding
against them,” Handley said.
Three days later, the Lady
Celts doled out a 69-16
drubbing to McKay High
School.
“McKay is much im-
proved over last season and
that’s something we have to
watch out for. We can’t go
into a game thinking it’s go-
ing to be the same team we
faced last season. We have to
play full effort,” Handley said.
The Celts had a 17-point,
19-2, lead after one quarter
and didn’t allow more than
six points in any period.
Handley and Downer both
credited a new full-court de-
fensive scheme.
Please see BOYS, Page A11
Lady Celts defeat Titans for second
KEIZERTIMES/Eric A. Howald
McNary’s Kailey Doutt covers McKay’s Andrea Fennimore in the game Friday, Jan. 15. The Lady Celts won the game 69-16.
Please see GIRLS, Page A12