The Philomath’s boys basketball team went into the halftime locker room with a 10-point lead against North Eugene Saturday afternoon during a quick appearance in the Shamrock Slam at Sheldon High School but the Class 5A Highlanders rallied in the second half to steal a 48-45 victory.
The Warriors dropped to 2-2 overall and will open play Thursday in the Les Schwab South Coast Tournament at Marshfield High in Coos Bay with a 4 p.m. matchup with Hidden Valley. Philomath will also see action Friday and Saturday at the tournament.
North Eugene, a team that placed fourth in last season’s 5A tournament and was ranked No. 3 in the OSAAtoday coaches preseason poll, has now won five of its first six games this season with the lone loss coming by two points to the Oregon West’s North Marion in a tournament at Wilsonville.
Jonas Spencer, a senior wing, scored seven points in the third quarter, hit a trio of 3-pointers, sank all four of his free-throw attempts and finished with a team-high 15 to lead North Eugene. Senior India Mohiuddin also had a big second-half with seven of his 11 points coming in the third and fourth quarters, a stretch that included a 3-pointer. Senior Jelani Thompson also had a key 3-pointer in the fourth for the Highlanders — one of five in the game for North Eugene.
North Eugene led 15-14 after the first quarter but the Warriors went on a 16-5 run in the second for a 30-20 lead at halftime.
Philomath senior Preston Kramer was finding success over those eight minutes by scoring seven of his 14 points on the evening. Senior Jacob Peters was a problem for the Highlanders throughout the first half with 13 of his 17 points over the first two quarters.
North Eugene pulled to within 36-34 by the end of the third and then played well enough down the stretch to hold off the Warriors.
Kramer and Peters have been the primary scorers so far this season for the Warriors. Through four games, Kramer is averaging 21.3 points per game, including a season-high of 30 against Pendleton. Peters is averaging 17.3 points per game.
