Woodburn Independent Online

Woodburn puts end to three-game skid

Bulldogs defeat Lebanon on Friday night at Woodburn High School

• By: Garrett Rudolph  
• Published: 1/22/2010 11:38:41 PM

Photo By: Garrett RudolphWoodburn junior Andy Avgi led the Bulldogs with 21 points during their 64-50 win over Lebanon on Friday night at Woodburn High School.

WOODBURN — Perhaps Friday night was exactly what Woodburn needed to regain its swagger.
 
Just two nights after a disappointing loss to Dallas, the Bulldogs halted a three-game losing streak with a 64-50 win over Lebanon.
 
“We just came out ready to play,” said senior Seth Gregoire, who scored 17 points for Woodburn. “The last practices we’ve been focusing on defense and that’s what we knew we would have to do to win.”
 
The Bulldogs opened the contest on an 11-0 run, but Lebanon worked its way back into the ballgame with a flurry of 3-pointers in the second quarter.
 
After building that quick, early lead, Woodburn’s advantage dwindled to just four points early in the second quarter, and the Bulldogs lead at halftime stood at 36-29.
 
According to Woodburn coach Joel Dunn, junior Andy Avgi challenged the team to step up its play in the second half, particularly on the defensive side of the court.
 
“You like it as a coach when you see your players kind of taking some initiative and saying the right things,” said Dunn, “because that’s exactly what we were about to say.”
 
The Bulldogs clearly responded to the challenge in the third quarter, holding Lebanon scoreless for the first five minutes of the second half, and allowing just six points for the entire third quarter.
 
Early in the fourth quarter, Woodburn had stretched its lead to 14 points and maintained a double-digit lead for the remainder of the game.
 
Avgi led the team with 21 points — his highest scoring output since Dec. 15 against Hillsboro. Javier Salazar added nine points, followed by seven from Jonaton Rios, five from Martin Ray, three from Alex Arreguin, and two from Sergey Inzhirov.
 
“It certainly wasn’t perfect,” said Dunn. “We had spurts, like at the beginning of the first and third quarters, where we had a lot of easy baskets and good energy, but we followed those up with defensive lapses and some letdowns, so we’re kind of figuring our way through that.”
 
However, after the Bulldogs had their confidence shaken up during the past two weeks, Dunn said it was good to get a win and relieve some of the built-up pressure.
That pressure was compounded by the Bulldogs’ 65-58 loss to Dallas on Wednesday night at Dallas High School — a location where the Bulldogs have traditionally struggled.
 
Dunn said that loss was the result of Woodburn not playing well defensively throughout the game, and allowing a young Dallas squad to gain some confidence, while playing in its familiar home environment.
 
In that game, Gregoire led the team with 20 points, followed by 15 from Rios and 13 from Avgi.
 
“To have some early season disappointments can stick in your head a little bit, so from the standpoint of just kind of competing and taking some of the weight off our back, we feel pretty good,” he said, after Friday’s game. The win improved Woodburn’s record to 1-3 in the Mid-Willamette Conference (6-8 overall), while Lebanon is still looking for its first win of the season (0-4 in league, 0-12 overall)
 
Next week, Woodburn faces a pair of tough road games, beginning with Crescent Valley on Wednesday (4-0, 8-7), followed by South Albany on Friday (2-2, 7-7). Both games are scheduled for 7 p.m.
 
With expectations on Woodburn riding high, after earning a share of the conference title last season, and playing well during the summer, Dunn said the team can’t focus too much on the standings.
 
“You just have to go one game at a time,” he said. “That’s all we’re doing. … We don’t have to think about what other teams are doing. It doesn’t matter who’s playing who, or who’s beating who. None of that stuff is relevant. We just have to be better tomorrow than we are today.”

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