By Jeremy McDonald
Jeremymcdonald73@gmail.com
OAKLAND, Ore.– It was just one, two stretches in this game between quite possibly two eventual Pendleton-bound teams in Regis and Oakland that decided Saturday night’s game at The Nut House. Yes, that’s what the Oakers call their home gym, and it lives up to the hype with how the Oakland Faithful show up and show their support for their squad.
And on the night in which they were honoring the 2000 State Championship, the team that was part of that historic 56-game winning streak, the Oakers had some extra motivation to come out strongly.
Early on in the game, the two teams were neck-and-neck with Oakland lead 18-16 early in the second quarter. Their defense was keeping the shooters of the Rams in check, but Regis too found waus to keep the Oakers in check and within reach.
Oakland made the first move, closing out the first half on a 16-6 run and led the Rams 34-22 at halftime.
Regis regrouped and pieced together a nice third quarter to keep themselves within ten of the Oakers going into the fourth quarter. The Rams continued to keep battling, getting back to within seven with 5:20, remaining after a pair of Isaiah Koehnke free throws.
But Oakland had one more run in them. Starting with back-to-back three-pointers, the Oakers pushed their lead back to double-figures, and they didn’t look back as they closed out the 69-50 victory.
“We knew it was a tough environment when we scheduled it, and we knew that. We wanted our schedule to he tough so that we’re tested at the end,” “We should’ve been more ready to go, and that’s on me for not having us more ready. We didn’t play our best and we really weren’t ready and that is my fault.
“We had good effort, everyone’s putting in good effort, all those types of things, but our focus kind of wavers, and it showed tonight. If there’s something we can improve on, it’s consistent focus with everybody on the court.”
The Rams will have a quick turnaround from Saturday’s game as they’ll travel to Salem Academy on Monday night. Isaiah Koehnke led the Rams with 24 points.
Joseph Fusco led the Oakers with 31 points, Oakland travels to Myrtle Point on Tuesday.
Photos By Jeremy McDonald
