Clinging to a 19-18 lead at halftime with an offense sputtering because of foul trouble, the Philomath High School boys basketball team needed to lean on its defense Tuesday night to work its way past 5A South Albany.
The Warriors came up big on defense in the third quarter to provide just enough of a spark on offense to begin pulling away from the visitors. Both teams unleashed over the final eight minutes but Philomath weathered all storms in a 54-46 victory.
Gallery: PHS boys basketball vs. South Albany (Dec. 5, 2023)
A collection of photos from Philomath High’s 54-46 boys basketball victory over South Albany on Tuesday.
The team’s top two scorers, seniors Preston Kramer and Jacob Peters, had to ride the bench for significant stretches because of fouls and in the first half, those disruptions impeded Philomath’s ability to find any offensive consistency.
But South Albany (1-1) also failed to get into a rhythm against a disruptive Philomath defense.
“We got some steals, we got some tips and we got some buckets off our 1-3-1 defense and that got the spark going, got the energy going,” said Kramer, who finished with a game-high 21 points.
Kramer said that at the break, PHS coach Blake Ecker stressed better energy and better execution on both ends.
Said Kramer, “Better defense, better offense — just making shots and finishing and making better passes.”
It was defense that set the tone through the first three quarters. The RedHawks had just 27 points going into the fourth.
“We had some players in there a little bit longer,” Ecker said, pointing out some of the successes that the team had in the 1-3-1. “Like Logan Matthews, he does a fantastic job up top and he gets a lot of tips and he’s long and lanky, jumps pretty well, and so people have a hard time getting around him with that.”
In the fourth, Philomath’s defensive look changed in an attempt to limit South Albany’s 3-point shots. The game opened up and both teams had their best offensive production over the final eight minutes.
“I think we really locked up on defense and made a better effort,” Peters said, comparing Tuesday’s performance to the weekend loss at Junction City. “Everyone really concentrated on defense rather than just getting their own shots.”
Philomath has implemented some new schemes on offense this season.
“I thought on the offensive end, we did some good things,” Ecker said. “But the offense we run does have a lot of reads and we’re doing better.”
Said Peters, “It’s getting more comfortable but there’s definitely a lot to work on still.”
Ecker told the players at halftime to just take better care of the basketball.
“You know, not driving all the way in … we want to get downhill towards the basket but we’ve got to kick it out earlier or we jump-stop and shoot a little jumper right there — not just go through people where we’re going to get an offensive foul,” he said. “So we’ve got to learn a little bit better that way.”
Philomath got off to a fairly good start, which included a Kramer 3-pointer, but then the fouls started coming. After Kramer had to sit early, South Albany rallied to take the lead by the end of the first quarter with junior Colin Cordle scoring nine of his team-high 20 points.
The Warriors opened the second quarter with a 10-2 run to regain the advantage. Peters hit a 3-pointer and scored on an impressive reverse turnaround layup. On the latter play, teammate Caleb Russell fought for an offensive board and then made a pass inside to Peters, who was fouled on the play and hit the free throw to pull PHS to within 14-13.
Peters also scored the team’s next two baskets, both on offensive rebounds as he worked aggressively inside, for a 17-14 lead.
But with three minutes left in the half, Peters picked up his third foul and had to go to the bench. Kramer also had three fouls at the break. Kaden Muir put the Warriors up 19-18 with a shot off the glass.
In the third quarter, the two teams were tied 21-21 three minutes when Philomath took the lead on a pretty play that saw Connor Harms scoring with an assist to Muir. The Warriors never trailed the rest of the way.
A Kramer 3-pointer, a Muir drive to the hoop and Harms free throws helped Philomath to a 30-24 lead. The Warriors got a spark with 51 seconds left when Kramer came up with a steal and midcourt and converted with a layup for a 33-25 lead.
In the fourth, Owen Heiken and Kramer scored hoops for an eight-point lead with 5:08 remaining. The RedHawks got back to within 37-34 on a Kaleb Bennett 3-pointer at the 3:56 mark but Philomath answered with a Russell jumper in the lane, a Peters shot off the glass and a Kramer reverse layup following another effective pass from Muir.
At that point, Philomath held a nine-point advantage. From there, the game dragged on with South Albany sending Warriors to the foul line and attempting 3-pointers — and making a couple. Kramer had a 7-for-8 performance on free throws in the fourth quarter.
Besides the 21 from Kramer, Peters finished with 16 to lead the Warriors in the scoring column. Through two games, those two players have scored 75% of the team’s points. Muir had seven points — five of those in the third quarter when the Warriors began to pull away.
The Warriors had 24 fouls in the game although nobody fouled out — Kramer, Peters, Muir and Harms each had four.
