Woodburn Independent Online

Bulldogs fall in overtime thriller

Woodburn execution in overtime leads to seven-point loss

• By: Garrett Rudolph  
• Published: 12/28/2009 4:07:07 PM

SHERWOOD — One clutch 3-pointer and a flurry of free throws in overtime erased the merits of a furious Woodburn comeback against Sherwood on Tuesday night at Sherwood High School.

The Bulldogs battled back from a 12-point deficit midway through the third quarter and gained a three-point edge with less than a minute to play. However, four missed free throws by the Bulldogs in the fourth quarter — including the potential game-winner with three seconds remaining in the game — opened the door for Sherwood’s Zach Moll to hit the game-tying 3-pointer, sending the game into overtime.

In the overtime period, Sherwood hit 7 of 8 free throws to earn the 59-52 victory.
“(Sherwood) made a play to get it into overtime and in overtime, they made a few plays to beat us,” said Woodburn coach Joel Dunn. “We’ll look at this the same way we looked at Madras, and some of our other games, as a game that we had opportunities and it’s just not working. And we’ll have to figure out quickly what the answer is.”

Dunn said several aspects played into the outcome, including Woodburn’s disorganization and lack of aggressiveness.

However, the most disheartening element was simply the intensity level he saw out of the Bulldogs.

“We just got out-hustled again, and out-worked by guys that wanted it more than we did,” he said. “We have to figure out what the problem is. The coaches have challenged our players, we’ve explained things to them and we just have to find out why other teams seem to be playing with more passion and intensity than we are.

“Until we answer that question, it’s going to be a long season. … This is the fourth or fifth game in a row that we just got flat out-worked by the team we were playing.”

Woodburn kept up with Sherwood in the early portion of the game, even as leading scorer Andy Avgi was sidelined with foul trouble. But the Bowmen ended the second quarter on a 7-0 run to take a 29-22 lead into halftime, and began the third quarter in much the same fashion, forcing Woodburn turnovers and stretching their lead to 39-27.

Even though Avgi was out for a large stretch of the first half, Dunn said that was no excuse for the way the team played, and that’s something the Bulldogs will need to learn how to deal with, as it may happen at other times during the season, as well.

“We rely a lot on (Avgi), but at the same time there are other players that are good and are perfectly capable of playing basketball when he goes out,” said Dunn.

The Bulldogs finally began to chip away at Sherwood’s lead late in the third quarter. Avgi’s steal and breakaway dunk early in the fourth quarter cut Sherwood’s lead to 39-33, and Javier Salazar sliced that in half with a 3-pointer.

Later, a 3-pointer by freshman Martin Ray, and another by Jose Padilla put the Bulldogs on top, 44-42 with 4:35 left in the game. Woodburn held its biggest lead of the second half at 46-42 with 3:09 left, but the Bulldogs could not capitalize on the momentum.

Moll’s 3-pointer tied the game at 47-47 and sent the contest into overtime, where Sherwood outscored Woodburn 12-5 — mostly on free throws.

Ray and Padilla finished the game with 11 points apiece to lead the Bulldogs. Avgi scored 10, followed by Salazar, with eight. Jonaton Rios and Seth Gregoire scored four points apiece, while Alex Arreguin chipped in two.

Tuesday was Woodburn’s third straight loss, including a 75-68 loss to Madras on the road last Saturday. The Bulldogs’ record fell to 4-5 overall, with just one non-league game remaining before Mid-Willamette Conference play begins. The Bulldogs host Springfield on Jan. 5. League play begins Jan. 13 on the road against Corvallis. Both games are scheduled for 7 p.m.

Dunn said he and the coaching staff bear some of the responsibility of turning things around.

“The coaches have to start looking at ourselves and looking at the way we’re preparing, but obviously we’re not doing things right, so we need to take an assessment and see how to fix it,” he said. “It’s our job to make it so we’re not confused.”

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