The Philomath High School boys basketball team remained unbeaten in the Oregon West Conference Friday night with a 57-52 overtime victory at Stayton.
The victory puts the Warriors all alone in first place at 4-0 while the Eagles drop to 3-1. Philomath (10-6 overall) has come out on top in six straight games and will try to extend the winning streak Tuesday at home against Newport.
Defense and free-throw shooting played key roles in Friday’s tight victory. The Warriors shot just 48.4% at the foul line but had nearly four times as many opportunities as the Eagles. Stayton was whistled for 25 fouls in the contest, compared to just 13 on Philomath. Overall, Philomath hit 15 of 31 and Stayton was 4 of 8.
All scoring in the overtime period came from the free-throw line with the Warriors sinking 6 of 9 and the Eagles 1 of 2. Philomath junior Esias Sapp hit three of four foul shots in the OT.
Philomath trailed the home team 31-25 at halftime but turned the tables on the Eagles in the second half.
“We played much better defense in the second half and overtime,” PHS coach Blake Ecker said.
The Warriors had a balanced scoring attack on offense. Junior Jamin Peters finished with 13 points, sophomore Dreyton Nuño and junior Kaden Howard both had 12 and Sapp scored 11. Nuño’s performance included three 3-pointers.
On the boards, Peters finished with 10 to earn a double-double on the evening. Howard grabbed nine and both Sapp and sophomore Nathan Seits had six. Howard also had a team-high seven assists.
Senior Ruben Reyes led the Eagles (10-7, 3-1) with 14 points and senior Mason Silbernagel added 10.
First place in the conference will be on the line again Tuesday in Philomath’s 5:30 p.m. game against the Cubs. Newport comes into the game with records of 14-3 overall and 3-1, its lone Oregon West loss coming at Stayton earlier this week, 56-55.
Philomath 57, Stayton 52
Friday, Jan. 30, at Stayton HS
PHILOMATH (57)
Dreyton Nuño 3 3-3 12, Kaden Howard 4 3-5 12, Hamish McConnell 2 1-8 5, Esias Sapp 4 3-4 11, Jamin Peters 4 5-11 13, Cole Barron 2 0-0 4, Ace Gerding 0 0-0 0, Nathan Seits 0 0-0 0. Totals 19 15-31 57.
STAYTON (52)
Ruben Reyes 6 0-0 14, Oliver Hunt 4 0-0 8, Mason Silbernagel 4 1-1 10, Landon Nelson 1 1-3 3, Ayden Collman 3 1-2 8, David Nunez 2 0-0 4, Coen Roberts 0 1-2 1, Liam Brown 1 0-0 2, Travis Conklin 1 0-0 2. Totals 22 4-8 52.
Team 1 2 3 4 OT F Philomath (10-6, 4-0) 14 11 15 11 6 57 Stayton (10-7, 3-1) 15 16 11 9 1 52
3-Point Goals—Philomath 4 (Nuño 3, Howard), Stayton 4 (Reyes 2, Silbernagel, Collman). Fouled Out—Nelson. Total Fouls—Philomath 13, Stayton 25. Technicals—None.