The Philomath High School boys basketball team opened the South Coast Les Schwab Tournament Thursday at Marshfield High in Coos Bay with a 69-62 victory over Hidden Valley.
The Warriors (3-2) advance to the tournament’s semifinals at 8:30 p.m. Friday to face the host school, Marshfield, which was a 58-46 winner over Mazama. On Saturday, Philomath will play either in the third-place game at 2:15 p.m. or in the championship game at 5:45 p.m.
PHS senior Preston Kramer had another strong offensive outing with 26 points on 10 field goals and 4 of 6 on free throws. Two of his buckets were from 3-point range and he shot 71% from the field.
Seniors Jacob Peters, Mason Stearns and Connor Harms also had double-digit scoring performances. Peters had 13 points on six field goals with a free throw, Stearns came off the bench to score 12 on four field goals — two of those 3-pointers — and a couple of foul shots. And Harms had 11 points on four field goals, including a trey, and two free throws. Both Stearns and Harms were 67% from the field.
On the boards, Peters was a force with 19 rebounds — 10 of those on the offensive end. Harms had 10 rebounds and Kramer grabbed nine. Stearns had three assists.
PHS coach Blake Ecker said Stearns provided a good spark off the bench and mentioned that junior Caleb Russell was working hard to get open a lot but didn’t have too many shot opportunities. Russell did have a 3-pointer in the second quarter — one of six for the team.
Hidden Valley (3-4), a team out of the Skyline Conference that lost to the Warriors 65-40 in the first round of the 4A playoffs last season, has dropped three straight. The Mustangs have played a tough schedule with their four losses coming against teams with a combined 19-4 record.
Four players scored all 62 of Hidden Valley’s points — senior Aidan Griess with 17, junior Narin Stone with 16, junior Joshua Iwamizu with 16 and senior Ivan Isley with 13.
On the other side of the tournament bracket, Crook County defeated North Bend, 63-40, and Redmond upended Junction City, 41-34.
