By Jeremy McDonald
Jeremymcdonald73@gmail.com
MILL CITY, Ore. We had ourselves a game entering the second half between Santiam and Regis in the Tri-River Conference Boys Basketball match-up.
Both squads entered the game tied for second in the league standings at 11-2 and were seemingly battling it out going into the intermission with the Rams leading 37-30. Regis used a 20-14 second quarter to build a cushion after a tight first quarter that saw the Rams leading a slim margin of 17-16.
For the Wolverines, it was their communication that helped them stay in the contest while the Rams used their passing to help build that cushion going into halftime.
“We play well as a team when we swing the ball, when we pass it up and when we run hard. That’s when we play our best as a team,” said Regis’ Eli Silbernagel. “Just passing the ball up, running the court hard, and not doing so much, Iso Basketball. It helped us out a lot (tonight).”
The Rams continued their running of the court and their passing attack that resulted in buckets and resulted in defensive stops that grew that seven point lead into a (score) lead by the end of the third quarter en route to a 90-69 victory Thursday evening.
As Regis turns their focus to Colton on Friday, Santiam turns their focus to another tough challenge in Western Christian Friday. Another test and measuring stick to see where they are at entering the TRC League Playoffs and their attempt to make it to the 2A State Playoffs later this month.
“It’s going to be a big refresher… I think we can do it by talking and not getting angry with each other,” starts Santiam’s Colt Twede. “Our communication was huge in the first half, and then we started losing it, but we’re going to pick it up tomorrow.”
Silbernagel and Isaiah Koehnke each scored 22 points in the win for Regis, Lucas Koehnke also scored 20 points in the game for the Rams. Owen Rupert scored 29 points. Kross Martinson scored 16 points while Twede scored 14 in the game for Santiam.
Photos By Jeremy McDonald
