South Salem’s Jaden Nielsen Skinner (12) moves with the ball past teammate Christian Russell (21) and West Salem’s Isaiah Pineda (13) and Jared Oliver (11) in the first half of the West Salem vs. South Salem boy’s basketball game at South Salem High School on Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2015.
The Saxons are a work-in-progress.
At 5-0 they’re farther along than most teams, but there’s still a lot of room for growth.
South Salem High School’s No. 4-ranked boys basketball team defeated West Salem 81-61 to continue its perfect start to the season Tuesday night at home in a Greater Valley Conference game.
The Saxons are undoubtedly one of the most talented teams in the state, but there are so many new components that the team has a long way to go to reach its potential.
“I think what it comes down to is chemistry,” said 6-foot-7 junior post Khalid Thomas, who scored 17 points. “I feel like if we have better chemistry on the team, not just if we like each other, it’s knowing each other’s games and that will limit some of the turnovers.
“I think we’re trying to make the great pass, we’re trying to do that spectacular pass, but we’re not making the smart pass.”
South Salem, which has placed third and fourth in the state the past two years, had another influx of talent this season.
The Saxons are an interesting mix.
Between four-year starting senior post Gabe Matthews, who scored 13 points, a player in Thomas who barely played a year ago, 6-foot-11 senior post Christian Russell, a transfer from West Salem who scored 13 points and senior Joseph Carey off the bench, the team’s experience is in the frontcourt.
In the backcourt it’s the opposite.
South Salem’s Tyler Wadleigh (11) moves with the ball past West Salem’s Isaiah Pineda (13) in the first half of the West Salem vs. South Salem boy’s basketball game at South Salem High School on Tuesday.
The team starts freshman point guard Jaden Nielsen Skinner, who scored 14 points, sophomore Tyler Wadleigh – who scored 13 points including hitting three key 3-pointers – and sophomore transfer Gavin Baughman came off the bench to score eight points.
It’s just taking time for those pieces to come together.
“We are averaging far too many turnovers,” South Salem coach Tyler Allen said. “Our points per possession is quite well. We shot plus-60 percent tonight. Just imagine if we wouldn’t have had those 17 careless turnovers how effective we would have been, and it’s not just tonight. This is a continual issue with us.
“It’s the style of play we play. There’s a bit of reason behind the turnovers we have, but we want to see progress in our decision making and our transition. We’ve got some tools on our team that make it hard to defend, and for the most part we’ve shot a fairly good percentage, we just want to see more value for that basketball.”
West Salem (1-4, 0-2) kept with South Salem for most of the first half of Tuesday’s game.
The Saxons took off to a 31-19 lead with 3:27 left in the second quarter on a 3-pointer by Wadleigh.
West Salem played large parts of the first half without leading scorer Jonathan Terleski – who finished with 24 points – due to foul trouble, but was able to close South Salem’s lead to 35-29 at halftime.
“We just needed to slow it a little more down instead of trying to push it so much on transition,” Russell said. “I think we got too excited trying to beat that press.”
South Salem put the game out of reach in the third quarter.
The Saxons went on a 13-0 run late in the third quarter capped by a 3-pointer by Nielsen Skinner and were up 60-38.
For South Salem to reach its potential as a team, the group is going to have to rely heavily on its young backcourt.
“In my opinion I feel like they’re doing a very good job,” Thomas said. “They’re not selfish. Sometimes with underclassmen that can be a problem.
“Last year I did barely play, but sometimes I got a little selfish and I know that that doesn’t really work. I know that working as a team is better than working alone and they’re doing a really good job moving the ball, not just trying to get themselves open, but getting their teammates open.”
bpoehler@StatesmanJournal.com, (503) 399-6701 or Twitter.com/bpoehler
West Salem: Jonathan Terleski 24, Lind 11, Bailey 6, Johnson 6, Pineda 5, Thompson 3, Splonski 2, Garcia 25 3-5 61.
South Salem: Khalid Thomas 17, Nielsen Skinner 14, Wadleigh 13, Russell 13, Matthews 11, Baughman 8, Schwartz 3, Carey 2, Martin, Low, Cabrera, Benjamin, Moe. Totals 29 14-16 81.
|
WS |
13 |
16 |
19 |
13 |
— |
61 |
|
SS |
21 |
14 |
27 |
19 |
— |
81 |
3-point goals: West Salem 8 (Terleski 3, Bailey 2, Oliver, Pineda, Thompson), South Salem 7 (Wadleigh 3, Nielsen Skinner 3, Schwartz).