Philomath boys roll in Moda Center over Tillamook

Playing at the home of the Trail Blazers on Saturday afternoon, the Philomath High School boys basketball team took advantage of the opportunity to play in an NBA arena and created good memories with a 64-19 rout over Tillamook.

PHS boys basketball coach Blake Ecker said the team enjoyed the chance to compete at the Moda Center, a $267 million multi-purpose arena that opened in the fall of 1995 as the Rose Garden.

“They were excited to play on it and it was a great experience,” Ecker said. “A lot of the kids really enjoyed it … it was fun, it was a good time. It helps to win, too.”

The dominoes fell into place to allow the Warriors to slip into one of the time slots available on Saturday.

“A good friend of mine puts it on and we’ve been asked to do it before but it just really hasn’t worked out for us in the past,” Ecker said. “We’ve gone to Alaska or played in some other tournament or had a game scheduled already. This time, it just worked out perfectly for us. There was a late cancellation from another team that was actually supposed to be there … and we stepped in.”

Philomath shook off a rough outing the previous evening by dominating the Cheesemakers from the opening tip. The Warriors outscored Tillamook 22-1 in the first quarter and held a 46-5 advantage by halftime.

“Right from the start, we got a couple easy buckets,” Ecker said. “Guys were getting their hands on the ball and had some good, strong one transition baskets, so it was nice to see that right from the start.”

Sophomore Preston Kramer had the top performance of his young high school hoops career with a game-high 16 points — 11 of those coming in the second quarter alone. During that eight-minute stretch, Kramer hit two 3-pointers.

“He had two NBA 3s,” Ecker said, explaining that the court was lined with the NBA 3-point arc. “He was feeling it and they would come out on him and he did a great job of attacking the basket and finishing inside as well.”

Junior Ty May scored 14 points in just two quarters of action. Junior Chad Russell scored five of his seven points in the third.

“The kids played hard and got after it right away and stayed on it and didn’t let them back into the ballgame,” Ecker said. “It really was a good all-around effort with everybody and everybody got lots of playing time.”

In the name of sportsmanship, Philomath let up in the second half and outscored the Mooks by just four points. Everybody on the varsity roster saw action in the game.

“They came out well and worked their tails off,” Ecker said. “It was just a good overall experience, no doubt about it.”

Jacob Torres and Marshall Allen each scored six for the Cheesemakers (0-2).

Philomath (2-2) will not see action again until Thursday with a trip to the South Coast Les Schwab Tournament in Coos Bay. Hosted by Marshfield High School, the Warriors will open with an 8:30 p.m. contest against Cascade Christian.

Philomath 64, Tillamook 19
Saturday, Dec. 11, at Moda Center, Portland

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