By Jeremy McDonald
Jeremymcdonald73@gmail.com
GERVAIS, Ore.– Despite having an off-game offensively, Gervais’ Alex Kuznetsov made up for it in the fourth quarter of the Cougars 49-46 victory over Waldport.
His shot wasn’t falling, the senior post only had two points through the three quarters, but Kuznetsov made up for it in other ways to contribute to his squad at home. Rebounding. Kick it out to teammates for the assist, anything really as they kick off the final week of the regular season.
“I didn’t have a really good shooting night, so I tried to do anything I can on the other side of the ball,” starts Kuznetsov. “I couldn’t hit my shots, I couldn’t hit my free throws or anything. But at the end, I ended up making those big plays. I was trying to get rebounds, kick it out to my teammates, anything I can.”
And in a game like they were in, it had to be a team effort to come out victorious. Gervais led after each quarter, but the Irish were right there with them. Constantly applying pressure on the Cougars to hold them off.
It was 36-32 after three quarters in favor of the hometown Gervais squad. But an 9-5 advantage by Waldport tied this game up at 41.
That’s when Kuznetsov came into the picture. The fourth quarter in general saw Alex Kuznestov finally landing some blows offensively. Nikita Bolanoff and Deo Kuznestov, who combined for 22 points through three quarters, were limited to just two points total in the fourth.
Alex Kuznestov’s eight fourth quarter points was the difference maker, his free throws down the stretch, helped Gervais stay ahead as time was dwindling. He hit a pair towards the end of the game that put Gervais ahead at the time 45-43. That was followed by a free throw split by Waldport, the possible tying free throw missed its mark and was rebounded by the Cougs. It was 45-44 at this point.
And it stayed right around that one point game until the closing seconds when Bolanoff hit a pair of free throws to put Gervais ahead 49-46 to force Waldport to resort to a three-point shot to possibly tie the game.
The Gervais defense clamped down, and made that shot difficult. The shot didn’t connect at the buzzer, giving Gervais their eighth victory of the season and some momentum going into the week.
“We needed to stay focus, do whatever we can, box out. I think that the main thing is boxing out and paying attention to the game. It’s always nail-bitters, but they’re fun games,” Alex Kuznestov said. “Glendale, four hour drive, I’m excited for that one. I really want to win and have a nice bus ride home. Regis, they’re a great team…Senior Night, my last night playing in the regular season.
“We got Colton on Wednesday, next week. League (Playoff) game, I’m excited for that for sure. I love playing Colton, it’s always competitive and super fun.”
Alex Kuznestov finished with ten points while Bolanoff finished with a team-high 13 points in the victory. Deo Kuznestov contributed nine points for Gervais, who will head to Glendale on Wednesday before hosting Regis on Friday.
Kalden McNeil led the Irish with 14 points while Jake Carlson contributed another 12 points for the Irish, who will host Central Linn on Tuesday.
Photos By Jeremy McDonald
