Cascade went on a 19-4 run to start the fourth quarter and pulled away from Philomath, 74-58, Thursday evening in an Oregon West Conference boys basketball game that had implications on first place.
No. 2 Cascade, No. 5 Philomath and No. 6 North Marion — those rankings based on the latest published by the OSAA — each finished their first run through league play with 4-1 records. The Warriors and Cougars will end the regular season on Feb. 20 on Cascade’s home floor in a contest that almost certainly will impact the league title.
Gallery: PHS boys basketball vs. Cascade (Feb. 1, 2024)
A collection of photos from Philomath High’s 74-58 boys basketball loss at home vs. Cascade on Thursday.
In this first matchup between the two rivals, Cascade had the upper hand with a dominating fourth quarter.
“We didn’t play any transition defense, or, defense pretty much at all in the fourth quarter,” Ecker said in reference to the second half. “They had our way with us and did whatever they wanted to do.”
Philomath also struggled on the offensive end with unforced errors and poor shooting representing the major culprits.
“You can’t do that against a good team,” Ecker said. “They deserved it — they kicked our living tails.”
Cascade also appeared to control the boards with a number of rebounds on defense and offense, the latter resulting in second- and third-chance scoring opportunities.
The coach and players were understandably disappointed with a fourth straight loss to Cascade, a team that beat the Warriors three times last year, including 61-52 in the state championship game.
“I thought we competed well in the first half and then we just let our guard down, were not making shots and just not doing what we’re capable of doing,” Ecker said. “There were some plays at the end that were uncharacteristic of what we normally do — there were a couple of fouls … so I was disappointed in some of our guys’ actions.”
In the first half, the two teams were on the same wavelength with the lead changing hands eight times. Three-point shooting started to take a toll in the second quarter on Philomath’s ability to keep pace with the visitors. Junior Landon Knox knocked down a couple of treys and junior teammate Kaiden Ford buried three 3-pointers over the final 5:15 of the first half, including a shot with 2 seconds left for a one-point lead at the break.
Philomath (14-3 overall, 4-1 Oregon West) took a 36-34 lead two minutes into the third quarter on a pair of Preston Kramer baskets and a Jacob Peters free throw. But Cascade countered with back-to-back baskets by senior Andrew Kirschenmann — both on offensive rebounds — to regain the lead. Seconds later, Ford hit another 3-pointer and Cascade (13-3, 4-1) never trailed again.
Philomath got back to within, 41-40, with 3:27 left in the third following a pair of Peters baskets. But the Cougars were in the zone the rest of the way with high-percentage shots and effective 3-point shooting. By the end of the night, Cascade had eight 3-pointers — six by Ford and the other two by Knox.
Ford finished with 25 points, Knox had 20 and junior Anthony Best added 17.
For the Warriors, Peters had a team-high 22 points on 10 field goals and 2 of 3 on free throws. Kramer finished with 16 points.
Philomath is scheduled to play next at 7 p.m. Monday at Newport. The Warriors beat the Cubs, 57-33, in their first meeting on Jan. 19.
