Woodburn Independent Online

Huskies drop regular season finale, still capture Capital title outright

North Marion now looks forward to second-round game with Astoria

• By: Garrett Rudolph  
• Published: 2/26/2010 5:43:21 PM

Photo By: Garrett RudolphNorth Marion senior Jordan McCain scored eight points during the Huskies' 55-38 loss to Gladstone on Tuesday night at Gladstone High School.

GLADSTONE — The North Marion boys basketball team got a little help from Molalla on Tuesday night.
The Huskies lost their regular season finale to Gladstone, 55-38, but still managed to retain the Capital Conference title outright, thanks to Molalla’s victory over Cascade.

The Huskies trailed the Gladiators by just one point during the fourth quarter, but a 20-3 run by Gladstone doomed North Marion (10-2 in league, 15-9 overall) to its second league loss of the year.
While disappointed by the outcome, North Marion coach Tony Merrill said he doesn’t feel Tuesday’s loss will have any effect on the Huskies’ postseason, as they look forward to hosting Astoria in the second round of the Class 4A state playoffs. />
“It gives some things to look at, some things that Gladstone did that were effective that I think will help us get better prepared for Astoria,” said Merrill. “I just thought Gladstone had a good game plan. I thought we got out-coached and they did a better job executing what they wanted to do than we did.

“I just look at it as a good experience for us to see some things we need to focus on a little bit as we move forward, but I don’t think it will have any bearing on how we play against Astoria. That will be a totally different game.”

Adam Hayden led the team with 12 points, followed by Jordan McCain, with eight, and Sawyer Dady, with five. Zach Goldsby, Zach Borowczak and Nathan Summers scored three points apiece, while Jsoh Turner and Kelly Christensen each scored two.

Merrill pointed out that after the Huskies’ last loss, against Estacada on Feb. 2, the team rebounded with possibly its best game of the entire season in a win over Cascade.

One concern he did have, though, was the health of Turner, his senior post, who banged knees with an opponent and missed the last three quarters against Gladstone. However, Merrill hopes that the injury is just a bruise that will heal with a little bit of rest.

“That’s a big piece of the puzzle for us. He’s been so great for us this year, on and off the court,” said Merrill, who also said Goldsby did a great job filling in for his injured teammate.

With over a week off before their next game, Merrill said he expects the Huskies to be prepared when Astoria comes to town. The Fishermen closed out the regular season as the No. 2 seed from the Cowapa League, with an 8-2 record (17-7 overall).

“I like our chance, just because I’m sure the kids will be ready to play,” he said. “They’ll be amped up and I think it will be a very good game. I think Astoria is a very good team. They come from a very good tradition over there and they’re very well-coached.”

Merrill said the Fishermen will present some challenges, due to their size and physicality, but having seen them earlier in the year, feels North Marion will match up well.

“We’ll have to execute our zone offense well, because I know that they will definitely play some zone against us, but I don’t think they’ll do anything we haven’t seen,” he said.

North Marion will play Astoria on March 6 at 6 p.m.

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