Now that the excitement from last Friday’s boys basketball win over 6A Roseburg has died down a little bit, I had an opportunity to do a deep dive on exactly what Preston Kramer accomplished with his 40-point scoring performance against the Indians.
In short, it was one of the best single-game performances in Philomath High’s boys basketball history.
One of the first questions I had after last week’s win: “Do you remember the last time a PHS player scored 40 points in a game?” Someone threw out Cal Stueve, then another insisted it was Ben DeSaulnier. One suggested it could go clear back to Logan Garvin, who played on the 2002 state title team.
The answer is DeSaulnier. In a game on Feb. 24, 2014, against Stayton, DeSaulnier scored 53 points in the Warriors’ 104-62 victory. A senior that season, DeSaulnier accomplished the school-record feat in just three quarters with a performance that included nine 3-pointers. He had 38 by halftime.
Tom Rohlffs, author of “Cutting Down the Nets,” which provides a statistical history of high school basketball in Oregon, reached out to me earlier this week to double-check some stats on Kramer from the Roseburg game.
For the record, Kramer’s 40-point night included 16 of 26 from the field — and that included 2 of 7 on 3-pointers — to go along with 6 of 11 on free throws. He also had six rebounds and three assists.
Kramer’s 40 ties him for second in the school’s record book with Stueve, who scored his 40 on Dec. 20, 2016, in a 65-64 win over Scappoose. I covered that game while editor of the Philomath Express. Stueve had the game-winning free throw.
According to the Rohlffs record book, another Philomath player scored 40 in a game — Jon Heins. You have to go back more than five decades to when Heins wore a Warriors uniform. The Heins listing in the book includes only his name with no year, opponent or any other info. Of course, I had to check the newspaper archives to see if I could find when Heins scored his 40.
I’m not saying that Heins didn’t have 40 in a game — perhaps Rohlffs has a source that verifies it — but in March 1970, a sports story in the Gazette-Time was published that reviewed his remarkable career with the Warriors following his senior season. The reporter, Roy Gault, wrote that Heins had set the school’s single-game scoring record of 36. Rohlffs’ listing shows Heins with 36 in an 81-59 win over Yamhill-Carlton on Jan. 20, 1970.
Several other players for PHS have been in the mid to upper 30s — a list that includes DeSaulnier on a couple of other occasions along with Geoff Grass (three times in 1989), Matt Simonson (twice in 2000), Garvin (2001), Eric Ficek (1980) and Matt Ayer (1990).
Conference hoops begins on Friday
The Philomath boys and girls basketball teams will get into Oregon West Conference play Friday — assuming we have no postponements — with home games against Newport. On the first rotation through the conference, the boys will be playing the 5:30 games with the girls to follow at 7.
Philomath’s girls at 9-2 are No. 2 in both the OSAAtoday coaches poll and in the OSAA rankings but don’t assume that the Warriors will waltz to the league title. Stayton and Cascade will both have something to say before it’s all said and done.
Newport comes into this week’s Philomath game with a 2-9 record. Next week, the Warriors will head to North Marion (7-7) and Sweet Home (1-9). Philomath hopes to be 3-0 heading into the two toughest games on Jan. 29 vs. Stayton and Feb. 1 vs. Cascade — both of those on the home floor.
Stayton is No. 5 and Cascade is No. 7 in the OSAA rankings. In the coaches poll, the Cougars are No. 4 and the Eagles No. 6.
If the conference comes down to the final games to determine the league champ, Philomath will have its work cut out with both of those on the road to end the regular season.
Meanwhile, the boys have a pretty good squad of its own with rankings of No. 5 in the coaches poll and No. 4 by the OSAA with a 10-3 record. Philomath will be tested right away in the league with Friday’s home game vs. the Cubs followed by a Jan. 23 jaunt up to North Marion.
Newport comes in this week with an 8-3 record and a six-game winning streak. North Marion, which has a 10-4 record and No. 3 OSAA ranking, will face Stayton before battling the Warriors on Jan. 23.
Of course, you can never forget Cascade, the defending 4A champions that beat Philomath in last year’s state title game. The Cougars are currently 7-2 and No. 7 in the OSAA rankings — the losses coming in the opener to Seaside and against a Washington school in the Cactus Jam in Phoenix.
Stayton could be in the mix, too. The Eagles have a 7-5 record and on a three-game winning streak. Four of the five losses were by single digits to teams with decent records.
Depending on how things play out, Philomath’s Feb. 20 game at Cascade could be for the league title. But there’s a lot of basketball to be played before that matchup. I’d be surprised if any team can make it through league play unbeaten.
Track girls will go for the three-peat
The Philomath High School girls track and field team should be among the favorites to take this year’s Class 4A state championship. The Warriors won both the 2022 and 2023 titles and will try to become the first school to win three straight years since Astoria from 2015-17.
Last year’s state title team featured 11 underclassmen that competed in Eugene and if they all return this spring, it should be pretty interesting. Ingrid Hellesto, a hurdler who also ran on one of the relays, was the lone senior that competed at state in 2023.
Track and field got into my head after coach Joe Fulton sent out his first email communication in preparation for the 2024 season. Practice is just around the corner on Feb. 26 and the first meet on March 15.
For those who typically make the trek to Eugene to watch the Warriors, this year’s state championships will be a week earlier than usual. That’s because Hayward Field will be hosting the Prefontaine Classic the following weekend.
The opener will be the Mid Valley Dental Icebreaker at Dallas. Philomath will host the Philomath Invite Relays on April 13 (and the league’s junior varsity championships will be staged at Clemens Field on May 6).
(Brad Fuqua is publisher/editor of the Philomath News. He can be reached at News@PhilomathNews.com).
