Woodburn Independent Online

Huskies regain control of Capital Conference lead

North Marion boys defeat Cascade in Friday night matchup of league's top two teams

• By: Garrett Rudolph  
• Published: 2/9/2010 2:10:57 PM

Photo By: Garrett RudolphKelly Christensen, shown during last week's game against Estacada, led the Huskies with 19 points during Friday night's win over Cascade.

TURNER — There were questions about how the North Marion boys basketball team would respond to its first league loss of the season, a highly disappointing defeat at the hands of Estacada.
 
On Friday night at Cascade High School, the Huskies answered those questions with a definitive statement: They’re still the team to beat in the Capital Conference.
North Marion (7-1 in Capital, 12-8 overall) reclaimed sole possession of first place in the conference with a 61-53 win over the two-time defending league champion Cougars (6-2, 12-8).
 
“I think that game Friday got us right back on track,” said coach Tony Merrill. “I think we kind of refocused and I really like what I saw — not just the way we played, but the way we handled ourselves, and the leadership we got from (senior guard) Kelly (Christensen) and our senior kids and just the way we went about everything.
 
“I was really proud of the way the guys were on and off the court. The bench was good, they were up cheering and it was a real team atmosphere, and that’s when we’re at our best.”
 
By the numbers, it was one of the team’s better wins of the season.
 
Of the team’s 20 field goals, 15 were off assists.
 
“That tells us that we’re doing a good job of sharing the ball and finding the open people and passing up decent shots for better shots,” said Merrill.
 
He said about 60 percent of the team’s shots were within 10 feet of the hoop, and team committed just nine turnovers — a stark improvement from the average of about 20 per game previously.
 
While the team shot just 36 percent from the field, the lack of turnovers led the Huskies to their highest scoring game in nearly a month, since North Marion put up 70 points against Estacada in the league opener.
 
Offensively, the Huskies’ scoring attack was led by 19 points from Christensen, whom Merrill credited with controlling the game’s tempo.
Christensen was one of three North Marion players in double digits and scored 11 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter.
 
North Marion overcame a tied game at one point, to outscore the Cougars, 22-17, in the final period.
 
Joining Christensen in double-digits were fellow seniors Jordan McCain, who scored 14, and Josh Turner, who scored 13.
 
Rounding out the Huskies’ scoring was Adam Hayden, with six points, Zach Goldsby, who scored five, and Zach Borowczak and Nathan Summers, with two points apiece.
 
Merrill said the team focused a great deal on each players’ role, leading up into Friday’s game. He said the important aspects for the team are playing for each other, playing unselfish and having each player on the team understand his role.
 
“We know if we do that, no matter what the score is, we’ll be successful if we do the things we can control, and we did a great job of that on Friday,” said Merrill.
 
“We’re not really asking anybody to do everything. We just want everyone to understand what their strengths are and play to those strengths and focus on the things that we can control. Any time you lose a game, especially after you’ve had a lot of success, can have a tendency to refocus you on the things you know that are important.”
 
Friday’s win puts the Huskies back in position for their first league title since 2006. With upcoming games against Molalla (1-6, 6-12) and La Salle (3-5, 10-10), Merrill said he sees a couple opponents that are much better than their records indicate. Both team have lost a lot of close games, and gave the Huskies a stiff challenge in the first round of league play.
 
North Marion defeated Molalla, 58-54, in the first meeting between the two teams, while La Salle kept the Huskies to a 19-19 tie heading into the second half, before North Marion eventually secured a 47-31 victory.
 
The Huskies travel to Molalla on Tuesday for a 5:30 p.m. game, before hosting La Salle on Friday at 7:15 p.m.

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