The Philomath High School boys basketball team has yet to be challenged through four games this season with two more lopsided wins in the books. The Warriors rolled through Gladstone, 71-35, and Henley, 71-41, Friday and Saturday at the Marist Classic in Eugene.
“We’re pretty seasoned and we play hard,” PHS coach Blake Ecker said. “We threw some different stuff at them defensively and found something that worked. We get out on the transition a bit, take good quality shots and share the basketball.”
In Friday’s win over the Gladiators, Philomath executed on both ends of the floor to build a 34-10 lead by halftime. Six Warriors scored points in the first half and on defense, Gladstone managed only four field goals.
The rout continued in the second half with Philomath adding another 37 points on the scoreboard.
The Warriors had a balanced attack with four players hitting double figures. Senior Cole Beardsley had a strong outing with 20 points on eight field goals, including three 3-pointers, and a free throw. He scored eight in the fourth quarter.
Senior Ty May threw in 14 points on five baskets, one of those a 3-pointer, and 3 of 5 on free throws. Junior Jacob Peters had 11 points on four field goals and 3 of 4 on free throws. Junior Preston Kramer finished with 10 points on five baskets.
Gladstone came into the tournament unbeaten and ranked No. 7 in the OSAAtoday coaches poll with the Warriors at No. 2.
The Warriors showed no signs of slowing down in the 30-point win over Henley. The Hornets advanced to the tournament finale after downing Marist, 53-37.
Philomath took a slim 19-17 lead into the second half but opened up a 38-24 lead by halftime behind eight points from May and seven from Beardsley. It was much of the same in the second half as the Warriors scored 71 points for a second straight game.
May finished with 23 points on eight field goals, three of them 3-pointers, and 4 of 7 on free throws. Beardsley had 21 points on nine field goals, including three 3-pointers. Peters finished with 10 points on four field goals and 2 of 2 on foul shots.
Henley was ranked No. 6 in the most-recent coaches poll.
The Warriors defense allowed no single player to hit double digits in both victories.
Philomath will next head to the Les Schwab South Coast Classic at Marshfield High in Coos Bay. The Warriors will open at 7 p.m. Friday at Redmond, an unbeaten 5A school ranked No. 4 in the coaches poll.
“They’ve got a really nice post who has a full ride to Oregon Tech … hopefully we can contain him plus they’ve got some shooters on the perimeter,” Ecker said. “It always a good tournament out there and if we can get by them, then we’ll probably match up with Junction City again.”
