By Jeremy McDonald
Jeremymcdonald73@gmail.com
STAYTON, Ore.– Coen Roberts gave his Stayton Eagle teammates that one swift kick of momentum when they needed it the most.
In a game where they, Stayton, and Hidden Valley battled all game long, the Eagles found themselves down 53-50 in the closing seconds of regulation. In a scramble, Stayton trying to get the tying shot up and the Mustangs trying to keep them from doing so, Roberts got his hands on the ball and let it rip from beyond the three point line with a second remaining.
He nailed the shot. A 53-53 ball game that sent the gym into a frenzy as Hidden Valley called timeout to see what they could do to keep this game from going to overtime.
“It was a really good shot, but we just needed one. We were down three and I just stepped up to the challenge and got it in,” said Roberts. “It was a great pass by Ruben (Reyes), my teammate, and we just really needed it. It was really a confidence booster.”
The Mustangs’ play didn’t work as they weren’t able to get a shot up or draw a foul to win it in regulation.
But with a bit of a pip in their step going into the extra four minute period, the Eagles had enough wind in their sail to see this one to the finish line.
They jumped out to a 57-53 lead about a minute into the overtime period. Their defense played clutch. limiting the Hidden Valley offense and contesting everything in their ability to hold off the Mustangs. And they were able to come out of it with a victory.
With three of their four defeats by one possession and the other by five points, Stayton was glad to come out on the other side of these close battles with some success as they started the SCTC Tournament on Monday evening.
“(Roberts shot) helped a lot. When we get momentum, it’s really hard to stop. Our ball pressure, our defense, our offense. We’re an amazing team when it comes to pushing the ball and putting heart and grit into everything into our games,” said David Nunez. “We’ve been in so many of these outcomes like this, just coming in on the downside and it’s great to get one of these. It’s just a great win.”
Mason Silbernagel led the Eagles with 13 points and Nunez contributed another 12 in the victory. Stayton will play Yamhill-Carlton at 7:30pm on Tuesday night in the SCTC Semi-Finals.
Photos By Jeremy McDonald
