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PAGE2A14,2KEIZERTIMES,2MARCH28,22019 KEIZERTIMES.COM McNary falls fl at in playoff opener By MATT RAWLINGS Of the Keizertimes Once you enter the post- season, it’s crucial to bring your A-game, especially when playing on the road. It was clear that McNary didn’t do that on Thursday, Feb. 28. The 48 points that the Celtics scored was their sec- ond lowest output of the season as they fell to ninth- ranked South Eugene by a score of 54-48 in the fi rst round of the state playoffs, ef- fectively ending their season. “We battled as best as we could, things just didn’t fall our way,” McNary senior Noah Hudkins said. “In the end, the only thing we can look back on is ourselves. We can’t blame anyone else.” McNary turned the ball over three times in the fi rst two minutes and missed their fi rst 10 shots of the game. Finally, Riley Flores was able to get the Celtics go- ing with a 3-pointer from the corner with less than a minute remaining in the fi rst quarter, cutting the South Eugene lead to 7-5. However, the Axe rallied by responding with a 9-0 run to push their advantage to 16-5 early in the second period. McNary head coach Ryan Kirch acknowledged that one of the reasons there was such sloppy play on both sides was due to the weather KEIZERTIMES/Matt2Rawlings McNary2guard2Griffi2n2Oliveira2breaks2away2from2the2defense2for2 an2easy2layup. throwing things off. McNary and South Eu- gene were originally sched- uled to play on Tuesday. But because of the snow, the game was fi rst rescheduled for Wednesday, then was moved to Thursday. Both teams were also forced to miss multiple prac- tices over the course of the week. “I think it probably did affect us … That was about the ugliest fi rst half of basket- ball we’ve ever seen,” Kirch said. “Everyone was out of rhythm, shots weren’t falling. Everyone was just off a little bit.” “I thought we weren’t as mentally engaged as we hoped to be.” McNary got a three-point play from Griffi n Oliveira and back-to-back buckets from Boston Smith — who was the only Celtic player in double-fi gures with 19 points. But the McNary of- KEIZERTIMES/Matt2Rawlings Noah2Hudkins2follows2through2on2his2shot2after2hitting2a2mid- range2jumper. fense still struggled mightily to get anything going as they found themselves down at halftime 25-15. But when the third quar- ter began, the Celtics looked like a new team. Oliveira and Nate Meithof hit triples on back-to-back possessions to get McNary within four. Then, a transi- tion layup from Smith com- pleted an 8-0 McNary run to cut the defi cit to 27-25 and force South Eugene head coach Dave Hancock to burn a timeout. “We did a great job, as we have all year, with fi ghting back,” Kirch said. After another hoop from Smith on an offensive re- bound, Hudkins gave the Celtics their fi rst lead of the game with a beautiful jump hook in the lane. “We had the mindset and energy that we were going to come back,” Hudkins said. “We were sharing the ball really well and we started knocking down shots.” The lead however, was short-lived as South Eugene responded by going on a 9-4 run and took a 37-33 advan- tage into the fi nal period. McNary still continued to battle, in large part due to the incredible effort of Smith. Smith has been dealing with a nagging knee injury since January and appeared to be in serious pain through- out the fi nal 16 minutes. But the senior post fought hard to keep his team in the game with 14 points in the second half. “Boston could barely walk,” Kirch said. “With the pain that he was in, to go out there and play for his team- mates, not a lot of players would do that.” But in the end, it still wasn’t enough. A pair of turnovers late in the game thwarted McNary’s come- back attempt as South Eu- gene was able to ice the game with nine points from the charity stripe in the fi nal moments. “Our guys left every ounce of what they had out on the fl oor,” Kirch said. “I’m sad that it’s over, mainly because this group doesn’t get to be together anymore. But what I appreci- ate the most about this group was the fun they had playing together.” Parents: Going to your kids’ games matters BY MATT RAWLINGS Of the Keizertimes In the winter of 1997, I was six years old and playing my fi rst year of basketball for Salem Parks and Recreation. I was on the yellow team — seriously, we didn’t even have a team name. One of the days where we had a game, my dad had scored tickets to go see the Portland Trail Blazers take on the Utah Jazz. I fully assumed that he was going to miss my my game to go to an NBA game. I mean, why wouldn’t he? It wasn’t even just a normal NBA game. It was the Utah Jazz. It was Karl Malone and John Stockton. It was the best team in the Western Conference. He even had suite level tickets. But when the ball tipped off at Sumpter Elementary, my dad was right there in the front row cheering me on. At the time, I had a hard time wrapping my head around this. Watching the Blaz- ers must have been a way better option than wit- nessing a bunch of clueless six year olds run amuck at an elementary school, playing a game they barely understood. Yet, he decided to come to my game instead. When we got home I bluntly asked my dad why he didn’t go to the Blazer game. He simply responded: “I just wanted to watch you play more.” It took a few years for his response to really resonate for me. For the next 11 years, the vast majority of my social activities revolved around sports. I spent countless amounts of hours on football fi elds, basketball courts and baseball diamonds. No matter when, where or what sport I was playing, my parents were always in attendance. Seriously. There’s no single instance I can remember without at least one of my parents attending a game. Every time I would seek them out in the stands, they would always be there. My dad literally drove more than six hours to watch me play a football game in 19-degree weather my sophomore year of high school. He would also drive me to AAU and travel-baseball tournaments all throughout junior high. And when he was forced to be tied up with work or be involved with other fatherly duties, my mom would be the one to pick up the slack — and her ear-piercing scream whenever I did something remotely positive could be heard throughout the county The reason I share this is not to tell you about my less-than-memorable athletic career, it its to convey the importance of going to your kids’ games. If you’re a parent of a McNary High School student, going to all of your child’s games just became a lot more diffi cult in the last year with the addition of Bend, Summit and Mountain View to the same league as the Salem-Keizer high schools. It may be an impossible task to accomplish. The everyday responsibilities of adult life, plus the potential travel and cost of going to all of your son’s or daughter’s sporting events may seem daunting. But parents, I implore you to at least try to be at all of your child’s games, regardless of level. Because it matters. It matters that you are there to encourage them. It matters that you are there to celebrate their successful moments and console them during moments of failure. It matters because it matters to them — even though they might not realize right now — and it will be something that they will always remember. There are a lot of aspects of my childhood that I don’t recall. But I will forever remember that my parents always showed up to support me. And I am incredibly grateful for that. mind2of2 matt FILE McNary2guard2isabella2Walker2tries2to2get2by2her2defender2in2a2game2against2McKay2earlier2this2 season.2 Celts no match for Tigard BY MATT RAWLINGS Of the Keizertimes Saying that the McNary girls basketball team had a roller coaster season would be an understatement. After losing eight of their fi rst nine games to start the year, the Celtics rattled off seven straight victories — six of them coming against league opponents — and sat in fi rst place in the Moun- tain Valley Conference mid- way through league play. McNary then endured a fi ve-game losing streak and was on the brink of not making the playoffs. With their postseason lives hanging in the balance, the Celtics got two wins against Sprague and Mountain View to sneak into bracket play. But on Thursday, Feb. 28, McNary’s seesaw sea- son came to an end, as sec- ond-ranked Tigard defeated the Celtics 52-24 in their fi rst-round playoff game. It was the fi rst time all season that McNary failed to score 30 points in a game. “We struggled offensive- ly all night,” McNary head coach Elizabeth Doran said. “Part of it was Tigard played really good defense.” “I was still proud of the way the girls played. We fought hard.” McNary guards Leah Doutt and Abigail Hawley have been the two best scor- ing options for the Celtics this season, both averaging more than 12 points per game. But both players were completely shut down in this game. Hawley’s only point of the contest came via foul shot, while Doutt was held scoreless. “Tigard obviously had their focus on Leah and Ab- bie coming into the game,” Doran said. “Every game it’s been either Leah or Abbie leading us in scoring. But they weren’t able to have their normal production.” The Celtics got a hoop from Annie Leigh Besa and a 3-pointer from Mackenzie Proctor in the opening pe- riod, but Tigard was able to jump out to a 17-5 lead by the end of the quarter. McNary, however, out- scored the Tigers 8-6 in the second quarter, with all eight points coming from se- nior guard Sabella Alfaro — who led the Celtics with 10 points. But McNary couldn’t keep pace with Tigard in the second half as the Tigers went on a 16-6 run in the third period to extend their lead to 39-19. The Celtics shot just 4-of-22 from the fi eld in the second half.