By Jeremy McDonald
Jeremymcdonald73@gmail.com
STAYTON, Ore.– When the Stayton Boys Basketball team needed one last run, they got that one last run.
And though it didn’t end the way they wanted it to for their seven seniors, those seniors and those juniors coming back next season, this run left a lasting impression with their foundation that they laid to build from moving forward.
Down 45-38 midway through the fourth quarter to Hidden Valley, they pieced together a run that pushed their 4A State Play-In game to a overtime period at 47-all when the final buzzer rang signaling the end of regulation play. A 9-2 run to force an extra four minutes to decide who’s season continues into the 4A State Postseason and whose season would come to an end following this battle.
“Our boys showed a lot of grit. Obviously, we didn’t want to be down that much in that situation, but they don’t let them hold them back, and they keep on going. That’s why I tell them all the time as coaches, things are going to get hard. Being down eight in that fourth quarter is tough, and they didn’t give up. We have seven seniors… I hope the takeaway from this season is that we’re not going to quit,” said Stayton Head Coach Kevin Stanley.
The Mustangs opened the game on an 8-0 run and led 18-15 after the first quarter. Hidden Valley’s Joshua Iwamizu scored 11 of his 25 points in the first quarter before slowing down the Hidden Valley senior’s pace over the remainder of the game Saturday night.
“We wanted to pressure them coming in with our 22 and our 2-2-1. We did a good job with the pressure, then getting out of it and matching up is what we really struggled with tonight, and he got going. He got a lot of wide open looks because we didn’t match up well enough, and that hurt us. They started out 8-0, and we were battling from the back to start,” said Stanley.
They did eventually back back to force overtime and led 53-50 midway through the overtime period before a 6-0 swing by the Mustangs swung momentum back in favor of the Grants Pass-area team. Stayton had two chances down the stretch to force double overtime, but couldn’t land the dagger three-pointer to do just that as their season came to an end in the 4A State Play-In Game
“I’m excited for the future for sure. It’s hard to see these seniors go for sure, we wished we had another year with these seniors, I’m super proud of them and excvited to see the future for them and for our program. We’re excited to be here, we’re planning on being here for the foreseeable furture, we’re excited about what we can build here and where it’s going to go for us.”
Ruben Reyes led the Eagles with 22 points. Ethan Whieldon finished with 12 points for Stayton.
Photos By Jeremy McDonald
