The Crook County Cowboys survived a defensive battle to advance to the Final 8 of the 4A Boys State Basketball Tournament with a 46-37 victory over the third-seeded Seaside Seagulls Friday night in Seaside.
“It was a great team win for us,” Crook County head coach Jason Mumm said. “We played well defensively and we executed when we had to.”
It was the lowest scoring total for the Cowboys all year, but it was also the lowest scoring total the Cowboys have held another team to all season.
The Seagulls were content to run clock on most of their possessions, while the Crook County half-court trap made it difficult for Seaside to get into their offense quickly.
Meanwhile, the Seaside defense made it difficult for Crook County to get open three-point shots, making it critical that the Cowboys execute in the half-court set. And execute they did. After Seaside tied the game at the end of the third quarter, Crook County went on a run, outscoring the Seagulls 14-5 down the stretch.
“We have great leadership and we have been in that spot before this year,” Mumm said of giving up a lead and being in a tight game down the stretch. “And we learned from it.”
The Cowboys, who often win games with long-range bombs, hit just two three-point shots the entire game, compared to seven by the Seagulls. However, Crook County did a great job of getting to the basket, hitting 14 of 20 free throws in the contest compared to just six of eight for Seaside.
The Cowboys led 16-10 after one quarter and 24-18 at the half. Seaside outscored Crook County 14-8 in the third quarter to tie the game at 32 apiece. However, the Cowboys were in control the entire fourth quarter as they pulled away to advance.
Crook County was led by Logan Mathews and Bryce Lowenbach with 11 points apiece, while Jace Jonas finished with eight and Kiernen Teasdale seven.
Seaside was led by Jordan Westerholm with 12, while Austin Palmer finished with nine and Ismael Jantes added eight.
The Seagulls had not lost a game since Jan. 6 when they were defeated by No. 1-ranked Cascade 69-45. Since then, Seaside had won 11 consecutive games. The Seagulls season ends with an 18-4 record, while the Cowboys have improved their record to 17-7.
Crook County will play sixth-seeded Marist Catholic, 16-7, the Sky-Em League champions, in the state quarterfinals on Thursday, March 7 at Forest Grove High School. Game time is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.
Marist advanced to the Final 8 by defeating Phoenix 59-30 Friday night.
The game will be an intriguing matchup as the two teams met a year ago in the fourth-place game at the state tournament, with the Cowboys coming away with a 52-47 victory.
Other teams advancing to the state tournament include top seed Cascade, No. 2 seed Junction City, fourth-seed Baker, fifth-seed Philomath. Madras, the other Tri-Valley Conference team to advance to the state playoffs, also won Friday night, defeating North Marion 84-70. The White Buffalos will play Cascade Thursday at 1:30 p.m.
Crook County 46, Seaside 37
at Seaside
Crook County – 16 8 8 14 – 46
Seaside – 10 8 14 5 – 37
Crook County – Logan Mathews 11, Bryce Lowenbach 11, Jonas 8, Teasdale 7, Martinez 4, Lopez 3, Levesque 2, Stefanek, Prusak. Totals 16 14-20 46
Seaside – Jordan Westerholm 12, Palmer 9, Jantes 8, Langmo 7, White 1, McCleary Thompson. Totals: 12 6-8 37.
Three-point goals – Crook County: Mathews, Lopez. Seaside: Westerholm 4, Jantes, Palmer, Langmo.
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