Sports & recreation
Cottage Grove Sentinel
Wednesday, December 26, 2018
South Lane County Sports and Recreation
Fourth
quarter
surge sends
Oakers past
Warriors
Section B
Contact Sports, 942-3325 or e-mail zsilva@cgsentinel.com
Mohawk buzzer beater downs Yoncalla
Oakland starts final
quarter with 19-2
run to take the game
By Zach Silva
zsilva@cgsentinel.com
After three quarters of
play, the North Douglas
boys looked like a team that
couldn’t be stopped.
On the road against an un-
defeated Oakland side that
came into the game averag-
ing 69 points, it was the War-
riors holding a 30-29 lead
and all the momentum. But
at the Nut House, it didn’t
last as the Oakers took back
control of the game as they
put together a dominant
fourth quarter to win 52-37.
“Everything that we did in
the game minus the fourth
quarter was fantastic,” said
North Douglas head coach
Tyler Vancil.
To start that fateful fourth
quarter, Oakland went on
a 19-2 run to take over the
game. Intensified defensive
pressure was paired with of-
fensive contributions from
six different Oakland players
which helped the team roll to
a win.
“We went on some runs
where we played pretty de-
cent offensively and then let
down defensively. We went
on some runs where we
played pretty good defensive-
ly and then took some bad
shots on offense,” said Oak-
land head coach Jeff Clark.
“So really, the message [going
into the fourth] was let’s put
it all together… We’re going
to have to take it so let’s go
out there and play. I thought
we really started the quarter
strong and did a lot of good
things.”
With turnovers and missed
layups, the Warriors were
unable to recover.
“Fourth quarter they made
a run and we couldn’t sustain
the run that they made,” said
Vancil.
Oakland was led by Colton
Brownson and Austin Mad-
den who each finished with
12 points. Jacob Brooksby
had 10 points for the Oakers.
Before Oakland ran away
with the game, the contest
had been close throughout.
Tied after one quarter, the
Oakers had a five point lead
heading into halftime. But in
the third quarter it was the
North Douglas defense com-
ing alive for what Vancil be-
lieves is the best the team has
looked on that side of the ball
this season.
“I just think they were
working hard. They were
outworking Oakland. That’s
what they were doing and
that’s why we made the push
in the third quarter,” said
Vancil. “…our goal at half-
time was to win the third
quarter. I don’t care if it’s
one point, two points, three
points, 40, let’s win the third
quarter. That was our goal
and we did.”
Leading the way for the
Warriors in was Caleb Parks
who continuously got to the
rim and had 10 of his 14
points in the quarter. North
Douglas’ next highest scor-
er on the game was Killian
Bond with eight points.
“They came out for three
quarters, this is a tough place
to play, the crowd is loud, it’s
hot in here, it’s a tough place
to play. So I said, you’ve got
to come out, be ready to go,
WARRIORS see B2
PHOTOS BY ZACH SILVA/CG SENTINEL
The Mohawk team reacts after Joshua Rowe’s corner three as time expired lifted the team to a victory last Wednesday. Rowe finished with 23 points on the game.
Joshua Rowe’s last second shot
gives the Mustangs a victory
By Zach Silva
zsilva@cgsentinel.com
With just 4.1 seconds left to play, Mo-
hawk, down by two , called a timeout.
Then, Yoncalla called a time out. And
then, another.
“We were trying to freeze their shoot-
er,” said Yoncalla head coach Darwin Ter-
ry. “We wanted to see what they were in
and we wanted to freeze their shooter.”
Three timeouts later and Mohawk ju-
nior Joshua Rowe was feeling good.
“We go out there [the first time], I’m
like, ‘Okay, focus, focus.’ And then he
calls timeout, so I’m like okay. Then I go
back, do the same thing, get ready, okay,
focus, focus. Calls another timeout and
by then I was like, ‘Whatever – this game.
Either I make it or I don’t.’ So by then I
was having fun again.”
With the play drawn for him for the
best available shot, Rowe found himself
with just enough space. As three Yoncalla
defenders closed out on him, he raised
him and knocked down a corner three to
defeat the visiting Eagles 46-45.
“I shot it, made it, it went in and I was
like, ‘Cool.’ I didn’t realize we won until
I started looking around and like coach-
es are like, ‘Yeah!’” said Rowe on the first
buzzer beater of his life. “And then every-
one is just yelling and I’m like, ‘Oh, we
won!’ So then I was like, ‘Yeah!’ That’s
when it really got going. It was a lot of
fun.” Rowe finished with 23 points in-
cluding five three-pointers.
The final minutes of the game were up
in the air as both teams traded missed
free throws and made buckets. Yoncalla’s
Austin Clemons was causing problems
for the Mustangs as he came away with
three steals in the backcourt in the final
minute and gave the Eagles a temporary
lead. After Mohawk went one-for-two
from the line, the Eagles did the same
setting up the final play of the game.
“I said best shot available. But I said, if
it is a three, let’s take it if it’s open. I mean,
Josh shot really good threes all night so
it wasn’t surprising for him to come out
and shoot a three but it was drawn up for
a two,” said Mohawk coach Pete LeMay.
“But I’ll take it.”
To start the game, Yoncalla rolled off
an explosive 19-point quarter to take a
seven-point lead going into the second
quarter.
“Well, I thought we came out flat. I
The Yoncalla defense swarms Rowe on
his last second shot.
think we played flat the whole game. Our
energy level and intensity. I don’t like
making excuses for my team whatsoev-
er, but Mohawk, I give them credit,” said
Terry. “Their energy level and effort was,
I thought, 100 percent tonight from what
I saw on the basketball court.”
Yoncalla’s Bryan Allen led the team in
scoring with 12 points.
Mohawk, missing their 6-foot-6 post
Colten Ireland because of injury, rallied
in the second to cut their deficit to three
points at halftime and held Yoncalla to
five points in the third quarter to take a
two-point lead going into the final quar-
ter of play.
“We talked…at halftime [about] how
many points are we going to keep them
under in the third quarter and in the
fourth quarter,” said LeMay. “We pret-
ty much met our goal in what we were
going to keep them under. Just wish we
scored a little bit more but one more is
good.”
Yoncalla resumes play on Friday Dec.
28 as they travel to the Regis Holiday
Tournament. The Eagles begin league
play on Jan. 4 at Elkton.
Oakland defense stifles North Douglas
Warriors fall to
Oakland, defeat
Oakridge before break
By Zach Silva
zsilva@cgsentinel.com
PHOTO BY BECKY GERRARD
North Douglas’ Abby Whipple looks to get a shot off through a
sea of Oakland defenders.
Athletes of
the Week
All teams like to stress the im-
portance of defense but for the
Oakland girls basketball team,
it is not just lip service—it’s the
foundation their team is built
on. Last Tuesday at the Nut
House, they gave the visiting
North Douglas side a firsthand
look at their defensive prow-
ess as they defeated the visiting
Warriors 44-24.
“It’s been kind of funny be-
cause you see those stretches
where teams get on a run offen-
sively but – and it’s happened
several times this year – we go
on defensive runs,” said Oak-
land head coach Don Witten af-
This week’s athletes
of the week are the
local athletes named
to the all-state
teams. To read more,
turn to page B3.
ter the victory that put his team
at 7-0 on the year. “So we’ll go
several possessions and just get
stops or get a block, get a re-
bound. They find that rhythm
defensively. That’s really been a
key for us.”
It was the Oakland defense
plaguing the Warriors through-
out the night as the team finished
with 10 blocks on the game led
by six from senior Grace Wit-
ten. Oakland’s Hadley Brooksby,
who uses her length and speed
to be seemingly everywhere on
defense, had four steals on the
night as North Douglas finished
with 24 turnovers. Brooksby led
all scorers on the night with 16
points.
“We’re not tall but we are kind
of long. And kids really bought
in to the defensive scheme last
year,” said Don Witten. Adding,
“Defense can be a hard sell but
they know if we’re going to be
successful, that’s where it has
to start. It sounds a little cliché
but it’s not. It’s just the key to the
game.”
Against one of the top teams
in 2A, the Warriors trailed 8-1
after the first quarter before
they put together a quick second
quarter run that cut the deficit
to just three. But the close game
didn’t last long as the Oakers
put together a 7-0 run and a
14-point lead at halftime.
“We had a couple stops at
times, we had a couple transition
baskets, we execute on offense
but not consistently enough,”
said North Douglas head coach
Jeff Davis. “We said… that if we
looked at each of our kids, they
each have, on the season, there’s
a highlight reel and there’s also a
reel of things that aren’t so good.
NDHS see B2
Cottage
Grove’s Erick
Giffen was
named first
team all-
state at wide
receiver.
PHOTO BY ZACH SILVA/
CG SENTINEL