2B | THURSDAY, JANUARY 30, 2020 | COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL
Lions
from B1
breath’, and I hit [both] and felt
so much relief.”
Berry’s clutch free throws tied
the game at 51 and, after stop-
ping the Falcons on their next
possession, he got an opportuni-
ty to do something even bigger.
As time ticked away, Berry
brought the ball upcourt and, in
lieu of settling for a jump shot,
made an executive decision to
try to finish the game aggressive-
ly. Berry used the same strength
he employs as the running back
of the football team to barrel
his way into the paint, flipping
the ball up towards the hoop
amongst a sea of taller defend-
ers. The shot went in, the clock
expired and the Lions won.
“Usually in practice when I get
the ball low enough, I’m a little
bigger dude, so I just did what
I do best and got to the hoop,”
Berry said. “It wasn’t even de-
signed for me. I was supposed to
hold the ball,” said Berry.
But, with time running out
and limited options, Hutchi-
son audibled and instructed his
point guard to attack.
The game-winner gave
Berry 15 points in the
game along with sev-
en rebounds and three
steals. He was only 3/6
from the free throw line
overall, but he hit the
two that mattered most.
“I attribute all that to
him,” Hutchison said.
“He took on a leader-
ship role for us tonight.
He was positive with his
teammates all night …
He was inspirational for
us. He attacked the bas-
ket really tough for us.”
The unexpected end-
ing was made even more
exciting by the fact that a
PHOTO BY NICK SNYDER/COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL
few factors were working Senior Zach Anlauf was once again
against the Lions from integral to the Lions’ success.
early on. Due to injuries,
so well,” Hutchison said. The Li-
Cottage Grove only had
seven players dressed in uni- ons got out of the gate to an early
form for the game. This lack of 12-7 lead, but the advantage was
depth was exacerbated by early done in once the referees’ whis-
foul trouble, including for senior tles began sounding.
“We were playing physical,
Zach Anlauf who was pulled in
we
were going to our advantag-
the first quarter with three fouls.
es,
throwing it inside and they
“That really put us in a bind
couldn’t
handle us inside. Then
right there after we were doing
we started getting away from
Warriors from B1
for the visiting team and put North
Douglas alone in first place in the Skyline
league standings.
“Days Creek, you gotta tip your hat
to them,” said head coach Tyler Vancil.
“They play incredible defense and they
make you work for it. It was back and
forth the whole time. It was nerve-rack-
ing.”
The victory provided a good exam-
ple of the direction the North Douglas
boys’ team has taken over the last two-
and-a-half weeks. They began the season
6-6, but have won six consecutive league
games after back-to-back losses to Perry-
dale and this same Days Creek team in
early January.
While health was a concern early in
the season, the team is currently near full
strength and quickly improving, which
is to be expected for a roster with six
freshmen. The growth was evident in last
weekend’s contest as the Warriors turned
a 21-point loss in their first matchup
with the Wolves into a 1-point win in the
second.
“We took care of the ball much better,”
Vancil said. “I think we had 20 turnovers
or so in the first game. The second game,
I think we had 12. It’s not a huge differ-
ence, but that’s eight possessions. We re-
sponded to their pressure much better
than we did the first time around and we
actually pressured them.”
The Warriors played a full-court, man-
to-man press defense the entire game,
keeping the score close and giving them-
selves a chance late in the fourth quarter.
With 18 seconds left, Days Creek’s
Zane DeGroot hit a shot to tie the game
at 50, prompting Vancil to call a timeout.
The Warriors set up their offense and the
Wolves forced them into a difficult shot.
The ball rattled off the rim and was re-
bounded by Black who got fouled on the
that … but they responded re-
ally well. They held their com-
posure. They kept fighting and
battling.”
Cottage Grove bounced back
in the second half to limit their
fouling and creep back into the
game, creating the opportunity
for Berry to make the bus ride
back home a happy one.
Also with strong performanc-
es for the Lions was Cameron,
who finished the game with 17
points and two steals and sopho-
more Carter Bascue, who added
nine points on 4/6 shooting with
seven rebounds.
The other senior on the team
along with Berry, Zach Anlauf,
once again made his presence
known both on and off the stat-
sheet. After recovering from
early foul trouble, he finished
with 12 points and six rebounds,
but more importantly was a +12
in 28 minutes of play, meaning
that Cottage Grove outscored
Elmira by 12 points during the
28 minutes that Anlauf was in
the game. The next highest play-
er for the Lions was +2.
Cottage Grove’s next game
will likely be its toughest test
putback attempt. With under one second
left, Black took to the free throw line,
made the first to give the Warriors the
lead and missed the second. Days Creek
had only enough time to miss a halfcourt
heave and the previous league leaders
went home dethroned.
Black finished with seven points and
seven rebounds, five of which came in
the fourth quarter, and was helped along
by seniors Tanner Parks (12 points) and
Jake Gerrard (10 points, 10 rebounds)
as well as freshman Keegan Mast (12
points).
“It feels like we’re starting to gel a lit-
tle bit,” Vancil said. “I think the biggest
thing you can say for our team is … we
don’t have a guy that has to go out and
get his. It’s nice for me that I don’t know
who’s going to lead us in scoring that
night because they’re so unselfish.”
As North Douglas sits alone atop the
league standings, they now have an un-
precedented opportunity before them.
of the season as they head to
Marist (13-3, 3-0) on Fri., Jan.
31 to take on the third-ranked
Spartans.
Girls basketball
After the adrenaline-pump-
ing finish of the boys game, the
Cottage Grove girls (12-5, 3-0)
took care of business against El-
mira (2-14, 0-3), winning 55-29
to earn their third consecutive
victory and fifth in their last six
games.
The Lions were once again
spurred on by a balanced effort
from entrenched starters Ema
Gardner, Matty Ladd, Gracie
Arnold and Mikaela Blomquist.
Ladd and Arnold, in particular,
combined for 17 rebounds and
nine steals and, as per usual,
used their height advantage to
create problems inside for the
Falcons’ defense.
Cottage Grove’s Fri., Jan. 31
game against Marist (8-6, 3-0)
will pit two teams undefeated in
league play against one another.
The winner will take sole own-
ership of the top position in the
2020 Sky-Em standings.
Whereas the girls’ team has won league
every season except one (2017-18, fin-
ished fourth) since joining the 1A Sky-
line league in 2014-15, the boys’ squad
has never achieved the feat. Their current
best is a second-place finish in 2016-17
when the team went 11-2 in league play
(24-10 overall) and ended the season
ranked #4.
While Vancil and his players may not
have that fact at the forefront of their
minds, with only six games remaining,
they still know what they need to do.
“That game was huge in determining
where we finish out in Skyline and now,
we control our own destiny,” Vancil said.
“If we can win our next few games in
Skyline and win out, then we’ll have an
opportunity to play for that one seed.”
Just four of the Warriors’ remaining
six games are league matchups. They will
play twice this weekend, at home against
Yoncalla on Fri., Jan. 31 and then away at
Elkton the next day, Sat., Feb. 2.
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