Clik here to view.
Stayton sophomore Jerry Daniels (25) competes for the rebound against Newport at Stayton High School on Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2016. The Stayton Eagles lost 38-51 to the Newport Cubs.
Clik here to view.
Stayton junior Cade Nau (2) goes up for a basket against Newport at Stayton High School on Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2016. The Stayton Eagles lost 38-51 to the Newport Cubs.
STAYTON – The Eagles have all of the elements necessary to be a good basketball team.
Stayton High School’s boys basketball team has a talented, athletic senior class and a strong group of younger athletes that give the team depth.
But when any team allows an opponent to shoot 52 percent from the field, it’s going to be hard to win games.
Newport shot 22 of 42 from the field and blew open a four-point halftime lead to a 43-26 advantage in the third quarter and a 51-38 win Tuesday against Stayton in the Oregon West Conference opener.
“Usually the defensive end is something we pride ourselves on, and come game time, I have quite a bit of trust and faith,” Stayton coach Joe Kiser said. “We gave up 28 points in the first half, and I thought that was a lot.
“For us, we’ve been holding teams, good teams, to 17, 19, 20 in the first half when we’re fresh and on the same page. That was a high number. We can talk and drill and rep as much as we want, but you’ve got to have guys go out and do it.”
The season doesn’t get any easier for Stayton (6-7, 0-1) as it moves into a conference season that includes top 11 teams in the OSAA’s power rankings in Philomath, North Marion and Cascade.
But the first half of Tuesday’s game should give the Eagles reason for hope.
Stayton briefly led at 7-6 in the first quarter after a lay-in by Everett St. Clair.
Newport led 22-14 after an eight-point run by Dennis Lancaster, but the Eagles responded by closing out on defense, getting up the court in transition and making shots.
Kyle Schwarm’s 3-pointer with 1:28 left in the first half capped a 12-4 run and cut Newport’s lead to 26-24.
Clik here to view.
Stayton senior Everett St Clair (10) goes up for a basket against Newport at Stayton High School on Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2016. The Stayton Eagles lost 38-51 to the Newport Cubs.
“We were fine,” Kiser said. “We were down four, but four points in basketball is not much. We just came out flat (in the second half), I thought. We didn’t execute offensively. They kind of went on a stretch where we really settled. We weren’t going for boards and, boom, they just transitioned and they broke it open.”
Newport went on a 10-0 run to start the third quarter and was hot from the field as Stayton cooled off.
The Eagles shot 26 percent (13 of 50) from the field for the game, including 19 percent (5 of 26) in the second half, while Newport consistently beat Stayton in transition and got good looks from the field.
“I think Newport is the most physical, tough team we’ve played all year,” Kiser said. “They’re a good group. They were the better team. I thought they played much more as a team than we did tonight. That’s probably our biggest downfall right now is not being great teammates and not taking ownership for mistakes. It’s hard to win that way.”
bpoehler@StatesmanJournal.com, (503) 399-6701 or Twitter.com/bpoehler
Newport 51, Stayton 38
Newport: Dennis Lancaster 14, Thurber-Blaser 10, K. Blaser 8, C. Blaser 5, Hanrahan 5, Beaudry 4, Ponciano 3, Gravelle 2, Imbler-Bremner, Gonzales. Totals 22 1-2 51.
Stayton: Matthew Lindemann 11, Nau 7, Diehl 6, Schwarm 5, St. Clair 4, Weeks 3, Daniels 2. Totals 13 8-11 38.
|
NEW |
12 |
16 |
15 |
10 |
— 51 |
|
STA |
12 |
10 |
6 |
8 |
— 38 |
3-point goals: Newport 6 (Lancaster 2, K. Blaser 2, C. Blaser, Ponciano); Stayton 4 (Nau 2, Schwarm, Lindemann).
Clik here to view.
Stayton senior Matthew Lindemann (14) shoots for three points against Newport at Stayton High School on Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2016. The Stayton Eagles lost 38-51 to the Newport Cubs.
NOMINATIONS NEEDED
Do you know someone who should be nominated for the Statesman Journal’s fan voting awards to be announced during the Mid-Valley Sports Awards?
Courage Award: Recognize an athlete who exhibited leadership during difficult or sensitive times.
Heart and Desire Award: Nominees for this award are the ones who show up and give maximum effort and support the team, even if they are sitting on the sidelines.
Comeback Player Award: Honors an athlete who returned to competition from an injury or other situation that forced him or her to miss significant playing time.
Fan Experience Award: Recognizes the area’s most outstanding school sports environment, shining a spotlight on the bands, cheerleaders, dance squads and fans.
Let us know at MidValleySportsAwards.com. You can also buy tickets to the first Mid-Valley Sports Awards show on June 7 at the Salem Convention Center.