Final Score: Cascade 50 Philomath 49
Ty May is a phenomenal player, but if almost all of his attempts are coming from behind the three point arc–even if they’re wide open–that’s an issue.
Philomath simply couldn’t get the ball into the paint in the first half, and it’s not reasonable to say it cost them the game. Yes, Cascade hitting as many 3-point shots in the first half as they did didn’t help. Yes, the pace being thoroughly in Cascade’s favor was an issue. Yes, Cascade being able to manipulate the Philomath zone was a hurdle. None of that, however, would have had nearly as much of an impact if Philomath had been able to get the ball in the painted area consistently before the latter second half. Trading buckets, trading defensive breakdowns, trading runs of any kind would have made the deficit more manageable for when the Warriors went on their second half tear.
The Cascade explosion in the first half fizzled once the outside shots stopped falling. The Horne Twins, Rogue Newton, and Landon Knox did their part to keep the defensive pressure up, but fundamentally the game shifted to Philomath’s favor the moment the three point arc became less of a threat and the pace slowed.
Rematch in Philomath on the 20th, with a third matchup on the second day at Forest Grove a very real possibility.
Leading Scorers: Landon Knox (Casc.) 16, Spencer Horne (Casc.) 16, Preston Kramer (Phil.) 13, Ty May (Phil.) 12