By Jeremy McDonald
Jeremymcdonald73@gmail.com
SCIO, Ore.– The Scio Boys Basketball team knew if they could just get a strong first quarter together and build upon it against Santiam, then they’ll have a chance to pull off a victory Thursday night at home.
They got that strong first quarter to start. The Loggers led 18-5 after one quarter and led as much as 20-5 in the opening seconds of the second quarter before the Wolverines clawed back and made it a 21-16 game at the halftime break. Now, it became the question of could they could hold off a good shooting team in Santiam for their sixth win of the season?
“We knew we had to come out hot in this game…we knew we had to come out and dominate. Passing the ball, hit some three’s and get some scores in there,” said Scio’s Brycen Zosel. “It was crucial in our win that we didn’t get into our heads. We had to keep our momentum going, stay level-headed, and get buckets.”
And scored they did. Scio got the crucial stops, the crucial shots to fall, and just overall played together and weathered the storm that the Wolverines threw their way. Santiam, as they did against Crosshill on Monday, had a slump but responded. Miscommunications on plays had plagued the Wolverines at times in the contest that allowed the Loggers to create more distance between the two squads.
But in the final minute of the game Thursday, with 1:26 left in the ballgame, Santiam trailed Scio 43-41.
“When we’re hot, we’re hot. We just gotta keep that rolling. We can’t stop it. We have to find a way. When we start scoring and start getting good stops, we gotta keep it up and not slow down,” said the Wolverines’ Mason Lindemann.
Santiam created an opportunity or two after that 1:26 mark, but they couldn’t land a tying or go-ahead shot. Which led them to have to foul to create more opportunities. That was where Scio helped seal the 48-41 victory going into Tuesday’s home game with Harrisburg.
“We need to keep it as momentum. Keep it in the back or our minds that it’s a big win definitely, and when we go into league, we have to keep dominating teams in the first quarter,” said Zosel.
Zosel finished with 11 points, Zane Whisenhunt led Scio with 12 points. Owen Rupert led Santiam with 16 points, and Kross Martinson scored 11 in the victory, the Wolverines host Waldport Friday at 7pm.
Photos By Jeremy McDonald
