By Jeremy McDonald
Jeremymcdonald73@gmail.com
MCMINNVILLE, Ore.–The North Salem Boys Basketball team really turned on the jets in the second quarter of what would become a 75-59 victory over McMinnville on Tuesday night.
Leading 19-16 after the first quarter, the Vikings pieced together some momentum in the second eight minutes behind rebounding, defensive communication and working as a team to expand their lead to ten by the halftime break as they led 34-24.
And they carried that over to the third quarter as they extended their lead to 49-33 by the 2:45 mark of the third quarter.
“We stayed together and we made them take quick shots and we started running off of that,” said North Salem Head Coach Hemingway Huynh. “Just sticking together was our gameplan. No matter what, defensively stick together, rebound, get our on transition and guard.”
The Grizzlies cut the lead down to nine, 60-52 with 3:35 left in the game, but North Salem held strong to close out the game and improving to 2-0 on the year.
“We had to come out fighting and it felt great. It felt great. We’re trying to build a new narrative around North Salem,” said Rafael Guerrero Ochoa. “This culture, it’s a family for sure. On-and-off the court.
Guerrero Ochoa paced the Vikings with 26 points and Isaiah Vargas contributed another 19 points to lead North Salem as they’ll look to continue this momentum into their next two games at home against Tigard on December 12 and Aloha on December 16 before the Capitol City Classic kicks off on December 19.
“We’re going to keep building every single day, keep putting our head down and Capitol City Classic, we’re going to put North Salem back on the map,” said Guerrero Ochoa.
Photos By Jeremy McDonald
