In a balanced Class 4A, veteran coach Blake Ecker knew his Philomath High boys basketball team had as good of a chance as any team out there to end this season with a trip to Forest Grove.
That’s the site of the state tournament and the Warriors are well-acquainted with the venue through its recent postseason history. St. Helens derailed those plans, however, with a 62-50 victory Friday night over Philomath in a first-round showdown on the Lions’ home court.
“It was an up-and-down season to be honest,” Ecker said after a postgame locker room chat with his team and loading up the bus for a long ride home. “We had an opportunity to win league and weren’t able to do that, but we definitely had some highs. And we had some lows. I just wish we would have made it to the tournament.”
Philomath (13-10) opened the game with a basket when Dreyton Nuño found Jamin Peters underneath for two. But St. Helens (18-5) went on an 11-0 run to put the Warriors in an early hole.
“They came out and shot the ball extremely well … they made 12 3-pointers overall,” Ecker said. “We didn’t play much defense in the first half and we were just allowing them to make some easy shots.”
Later, trailing 14-4, Philomath put together an 8-0 run to get back to within two points of the lead. Peters had back-to-back baskets sandwiched in between a Cole Barron hoop and a Kaden Howard jump shot.
By the end of the first quarter, the Lions had gone back up by five at 17-12.
St. Helens found a rhythm in the second quarter and increased its lead back to double digits. The Lions had a 6-0 run over the final 2:44 of the half to lead 37-23 at the break.
In the third quarter, Philomath got back into the game by scoring the first six points on baskets by Jamin Peters, Howard and Esias Sapp. But Philomath’s offense disappeared for more than four minutes and by the end of the quarter, St. Helens had gone up, 48-31.
St. Helens cooled off with its shooting and the Warriors were getting boards and not allowing second-chance opportunities. But Philomath was not able to take advantage and turn the tables.
“In the third, they didn’t shoot the ball nearly as well,” Ecker said. “We missed every opportunity to come back in the ballgame, every opportunity. Either we’d turn it over or miss lanes.”
The Warriors never got their deficit below double digits the rest of the way. St. Helens led 61-40 with 2:36 remaining but Philomath didn’t give up and ended the game with a 10-1 run. Josiah Peters, one of two seniors on the roster along with Ace Gerding, had the team’s final basket of the season.
Jamin Peters had a solid performance for Philomath offensively with a game-high 18 points on eight field goals and 2 of 3 from the foul line. Sapp, the team’s top scorer during the regular season, finished with 15 points on five baskets, including a 3-pointer, and 4 of 6 on free throws.
As Ecker said, the Lions were difficult to stop when it came to long-range shooting. St. Helens made a dozen 3-pointers with three each from sophomore Noah Bigham, junior Tanner Naes and junior Isaac Polvogt. Senior Andrew Waite also had a couple and junior Orion Wewa knocked one down early on. Waite was the team’s top scorer with 12.
St. Helens advances to the 4A tournament next weekend at Forest Grove.
St. Helens 62, Philomath 50
Friday, March 6, at St. Helens HS
PHILOMATH (50)
Dreyton Nuño 1 0-0 3, Kaden Howard 2 0-0 4, Esias Sapp 5 4-6 15, Cole Barron 1 0-2 2, Jamin Peters 8 2-3 18, Hamish McConnell 0 2-2 2, Josiah Peters 3 0-0 6, Nathan Seits 0 0-0 0, Ace Gerding 0 0-0 0. Totals 20 8-13 50.
ST. HELENS (62)
Noah Bigham 3 0-0 9, Tanner Naes 4 0-0 11, Andrew Waite 5 0-0 12, TJ Kearse 4 1-2 9, Orion Wewa 2 4-4 9, Carter Dueck 0 0-0 0, Leo Criswell 0 0-0 0, Isaac Polvogt 3 0-0 9, Danny Moore Jr. 1 1-2 3, Cole Pence 0 0-0 0. Totals 22 6-8 62.
Team 1 2 3 4 F Philomath (13-10) 12 11 8 19 50 St. Helens (18-5) 17 20 11 14 62
3-Point Goals—Philomath 2 (Nuño, Sapp), St. Helens 12 (Bigham 3, Naes 3, Polvogt 3, Waite 2, Wewa). Fouled Out—None. Total Fouls—Philomath 13, St. Helens 15. Technicals—None.