The Philomath High School boys basketball team got into a hole early and was never able to climb out in a 49-42 upset loss Monday night at Newport.
The setback hurts the Warriors in the Oregon West Conference standings by dropping them to third place behind North Marion and Cascade. The Huskies and Cougars are tied for first at 5-1 with the Warriors at 4-2. Unless other upsets occur over the next two weeks, the North Marion-Cascade game on Feb. 12 could determine the league title.
The Warriors will try to bounce back Thursday at home against North Marion. The tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Against the Cubs, Philomath (14-5 overall) was limited to just two baskets in the first quarter and was whistled for a number of fouls to give the home team opportunities at the free-throw line. Over the first eight minutes, Newport made eight of nine foul shots to go along with a pair of 3-pointers to take a 14-5 lead into the second quarter.
By halftime, Newport increased its lead to 13 points behind more free throws — the Cubs made 21 of 26 in the game — and another 3-pointer helped their cause. Junior guard Rory Barber scored 12 of his game-high 18 points in the first half.
Philomath had its best offensive output in the third quarter but couldn’t put much of a dent in the deficit with the Cubs taking a 42-30 lead into the fourth. Philomath tried to rally late but the Cubs held on.
Senior Preston Kramer had a team-high 17 points on six field goals and 4 of 9 on free throws for the Warriors. Senior Jacob Peters finished with 10 points on two field goals and 6 of 8 on free throws. Kramer and senior Mason Stearns had 3-pointers.
Newport (10-7, 2-4) was whistled for its share of fouls as well with Philomath getting to the free-throw line 25 times and hitting 16.
