After an 11-point loss in the season opener and a single-digit win in the followup, the Philomath High School boys basketball team could breathe a little easier in Thursday night’s 78-28 victory over Pendleton.
Playing for the second time this week in the PHS gym, senior Preston Kramer scored 30 points, senior Jacob Peters added 16 and several others contributed to the point total, including six 3-pointers from players off the bench.
Gallery: PHS boys basketball vs. Pendleton
A collection of photos from Philomath High’s 78-28 boys basketball victory over Pendleton on Thursday.
Perhaps just as important, Philomath’s starters stayed out of foul trouble.
“We came out and executed and feel like we played really well,” said Connor Harms, a 6-foot-4 senior who contributed inside with points and rebounds.
PHS coach Blaker Ecker said he’s seeing progress with his bigs, which also includes another senior starter in Owen Heiken.
“We did a couple of nice things when they were in zone,” Ecker said. “We did some high-low action and Connor did a great job of sealing the bottom of the zone … we’ve been working on that. We want to attack inside-out — that’s one of the things we wrote on the board, attacking inside and kicking it out if need to, so we’re moving right along.”
Heading into this season, it was a part of the team returning the least experience. The win over Pendleton appeared to create positive momentum.
“There’s definitely a change with Chad (Russell) leaving but we’re adjusting and I feel like we’ll get there,” said Harms, who is averaging 5 points per game so far this season. “Definitely still a work in progress but we’re slowly getting it stable.”
Philomath played well from the start, building an 8-0 lead in the first 2 minutes, 20 seconds of the game. By the end of the first quarter, the Warriors were well on their way with an 18-6 advantage — all of those points by Kramer and Peters.
Kramer was especially aggressive offensively with 12 points in the first and another 12 in the second. After scoring six more in the third to hit 30, Ecker took him out of the game perhaps as a show of sportsmanship but also to give backups more game experience.
Kramer’s 30 came on 12 field goals and 5 of 6 on free throws. Peters scored his 16 points on eight field goals — six in the first and 10 in the third. He also sat out the fourth quarter.
Pendleton junior guard Cary Carter, an all-conference player in the Greater Oregon League, buried a pair of 3-pointers in the first quarter but didn’t score the rest of the way. Carter was limited in terms of overall game minutes, however, with an apparent sprained ankle.
Still, the performance was indicative of the team’s defensive effort.
“We challenged the guys in the second half to not let up defensively,” Ecker said. “We didn’t do anything to put a ton of pressure on them but we wanted to still work hard and not be laid back and let them climb back in.
Pendleton (1-3) was one of the most successful basketball programs in Class 5A in the 2010s but has struggled in recent years. The Buckaroos moved down from 5A to 4A last season when they went 11-14. The team, coached by Ron Murphy, was on the first stop of a three-game road trip with contests coming up Friday at Marshfield and Saturday at North Bend.
“You know, it’s tough for them — they came on a long drive to get here (296 miles) and to get out and play, it’s a tough situation for them,” Ecker said.
The big lead allowed the Warriors to clear the bench and the backups took advantage of the opportunity. Swing players Elijah Bush and Grant Niemann brought cheers from the crowd with under two minutes to play when they sank 3-pointers.
“That was fun … both of those guys can shoot it pretty well,” Ecker said. “I think Elijah Bush had five 3s in the JV game and so it kind of continued for him and then Grant Niemann had one (in the JV game) and popped another one so our guys were excited about that for them. It makes for good team camaraderie.”
Several players came off the bench to score points, including Caleb Russell, Mason Stearns, Hudson Raab, Logan Matthews and Kash Lindsey. Russell, Stearns, Raab, Bush and Niemann combined for six of the team’s seven treys.
It was the most lopsided win for Philomath since defeating Rainier by 60 points on Jan. 5, 2022.
The Warriors will play again Saturday with a jaunt down to Eugene for a “Shamrock Slam” appearance against North Eugene. The 5A Highlanders are off to a 3-1 start with the lone loss coming to Oregon West member North Marion (the team plays another game Friday night vs. North Medford). North Eugene is coming off a fourth-place trophy in last season’s 4A state tournament.
“I think they’re ranked third in 5A and they’re a bunch of really good guys,” Ecker said. “We’ll have our hands full, no doubt about it.”
The game is scheduled to tip-off at 2:30 p.m. at Sheldon High School.
