Philomath High senior Mike Lundy found himself in the zone over the first 8 minutes of Wednesday night’s 53-28 Warriors victory over visiting Sisters. In the first quarter, the Outlaws spiraled into a deep hole as Lundy hit four 3-pointers and scored 15 points.
In a postgame interview, Lundy stressed the importance of the team as a whole playing well.
“I think each game we’ve been getting better with our team chemistry,” he said. “I think it was hard going into those first few games after not playing for so long and just getting into a rhythm. But I think each game we’ve been doing a good job with guys being willing to listen to others and just being cooperative and trying to get on the same page.”
Lundy finished with 22 points and sophomore teammate Ty May scored 16 points and grabbed 17 rebounds in a game that saw no threat from Sisters.
Philomath (3-0) scored the first eight points on two Lundy 3s and on an offensive put-back by May. By the end of the quarter, the Warriors were leading 21-8. Right before the buzzer, Lundy buried his fourth 3-pointer while drawing a foul, converting for a rare four-point play.
The Warrior defense took center stage in the second quarter. Sisters opened with a 3-pointer by senior guard Nate Weber but the Outlaws didn’t score again until the third quarter. Philomath’s lead at the break was 32-11.
In the third, Philomath got more players involved in the scoring with sophomore Chad Russell, junior Cole Matthews and senior Chase Beardsley finding the net in addition to Lundy and May. Matthews was making his season debut. One of the prettiest shots of the night came with 3:02 left in the third on a fadeaway jumper by May.
Philomath’s biggest lead of the game was the final margin of 25 points. Junior Mark Grimmer came off the bench and scored the final four points on a couple of free throws and a basket in the final 28 seconds. Sophomore Cole Beardsley hit a 3-pointer earlier in the fourth and finished with five.
Lundy and May combined for 38 of the team’s 53 points on this night. But both Lundy and Ecker said the Warriors are capable of seeing plenty of points from others on the roster over the long haul.
“We’ve talked about that a little bit in terms of we just can’t have one guy scoring all the time,” Ecker said. “It would be nice to see some other guys score and it will happen, there’s no doubt about it. We have plenty of guys who can shoot the ball.”
But when a player like Lundy has the hot hand, Ecker added, “let’s give him the ball.”
Last season when the Warriors went 20-4, five players could be the leading scorer on any given night.
“When I first started out in the first couple of games, I was forcing more shots because I put a little more pressure (on myself) than I needed to,” Lundy said when asked about the changed team scoring dynamic so far this season. “The scoreboard might show me and Ty but we have four or five other guys that can score just as much as we can on a night-in, night-out basis. It’s just a matter of who’s getting open and who’s hitting their shots and tonight it was me.”
Weber led the Outlaws (0-4) with 13 points, which included a trio of 3-pointers. An interesting statistic for the Warriors could be found in the fouls department. Officials whistled PHS for only five fouls in the game with the starters committing only two.
Philomath will head to Stayton on Friday with the tip-off scheduled for 7 p.m.
Philomath 53, Sisters 28
Wednesday, May 26, at Philomath HS
| TEAMS (RECORDS) | 1Q | 2Q | 3Q | 4Q | HT | FINAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sisters (0-4) | 8 | 3 | 12 | 5 | 11 | 28 |
| Philomath (3-0) | 21 | 11 | 10 | 11 | 32 | 53 |
| SISTERS | FG | FT-FTA | PF | TP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Camden Froehlich | 1 | 3-4 | 4 | 5 |
| Nate Weber | 5 | 0-0 | 2 | 13 |
| Adam Maddox-Castle | 0 | 0-0 | 1 | 0 |
| Ricky Huffman | 0 | 0-0 | 1 | 0 |
| Connor Linn | 1 | 0-0 | 1 | 2 |
| Jamen Schwartz | 0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 |
| Max Palanuk | 2 | 0-0 | 1 | 6 |
| Griffin Gardner | 1 | 0-0 | 3 | 2 |
| Mekhye Froehlich | 0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 |
| AJ Scholl | 0 | 0-0 | 1 | 0 |
| TOTALS | 10 | 3-4 | 14 | 28 |
| PHILOMATH | FG | FT-FTA | PF | TP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michael Lundy | 7 | 4-6 | 0 | 22 |
| Ty May | 5 | 6-8 | 0 | 16 |
| Cole Matthews | 1 | 0-4 | 0 | 2 |
| Dillon Olsen | 0 | 0-0 | 1 | 0 |
| Chad Russell | 1 | 0-0 | 1 | 2 |
| Chase Beardsley | 1 | 0-0 | 0 | 2 |
| Cameron Ordway | 0 | 0-0 | 1 | 0 |
| Mark Grimmer | 1 | 2-3 | 1 | 4 |
| Cole Beardsley | 2 | 0-0 | 0 | 5 |
| Isaac Lattin | 0 | 0-0 | 1 | 0 |
| Caleb Jensen | 0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 |
| Brody Bushnell | 0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 |
| Logan Carter | 0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 |
| TOTALS | 18 | 12-21 | 5 | 53 |
| 3-Point Goals: Sisters 5 (Weber 3, Palanuk 2), Philomath 5 (Lundy 4, Co. Beardsley) Fouled Out: None Total Fouls: Sisters 14, Philomath 5 Technicals: None |
JUNIOR VARSITY 2
Philomath 45, Santiam Christian 9
Wednesday, May 26, at Philomath HS
| TEAMS | 1Q | 2Q | 3Q | 4Q | HT | FINAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Santiam Christian | 4 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 9 |
| Philomath | 8 | 20 | 10 | 7 | 28 | 45 |
| JV2 GAME NOTES |
|---|
| The JV2 team went to 3-0 with the victory. … Simon King scored 14 points on seven field goals. … Kaden Muir scored nine on three field goals and 3 of 6 free throws. … Connor Harms had eight points on three field goals and 2 of 4 free throws. … Philomath shut out Santiam Christian in the second and third quarters and led 28-4 at halftime. … The team is scheduled to play next on June 2 at home vs. Cascade. … The JV team did not play Wednesday night. The JV Warriors’ next game is Friday at Stayton. |
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