Gini Davis/The Chronicle
CRESWELL – Tyler Frieze goes up for a layup during the third quarter of the Bulldogs’ league victory over Pleasant Hill.
CHS: WEEK IN REVIEW
BOYS BASKETBALL
Results: Creswell hosted Chemawa after this issue went to press. For live updates on boys and girls basketball, visit ScorebookLive.com or OSAA.org. … CHS won on the road at La Pine on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 70-43. … Creswell beat Pleasant Hill 61-41 at home Friday, Jan. 10.
Hawks recap: After losing consecutive games after winter break, the Bulldogs began Mountain Valley Conference play with two victories. Creswell outrebounded La Pine 36-24, had 21 deflections to La Pine’s 8 and the Hawks managed only 45 of the 122 shots taken in the game. Tyler Frieze led the Bulldogs with 23 points and 7 rebounds, Kai Apo had his first double-double of the week with 15 points and 12 rebounds. Austin Gabriel had 6 rebounds and 4 deflections. “Austin has been rebounding and defending better than I’ve ever seen from him,” coach Jesse Thomas said. “We’re going to work more on getting his offense going and then he’s really going to be a huge weapon for us.”
Billies recap: Apo is averaging a double-double in league play, adding 17 points and 13 rebounds for CHS in this game. Frieze led scoring with 20 points and Dallton Dewey had 14 points and 6 rebounds. Creswell outrebounded Pleasant Hill 34-21 and had only 9 turnovers. Max Smith led the Billies with 14 points and 6 rebounds.
Reflections: Thomas said: “I just want them to keep their focus on what’s in front of them. Blowout games don’t happen in one possession. It takes patience and you have to have trust it will pay off.”
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Results: Creswell hosted Chemawa after this issue went to press. For live updates on boys and girls basketball, visit ScorebookLive.com or OSAA.org.
Results: The Lady Dawgs lost at La Pine 40-21 on Tuesday, Jan. 7 in their Mountain Valley Conference opener. … Creswell lost at home to 7th-ranked Pleasant Hill, 52-26.
Hawks recap: Brea Dapron was in early foul trouble and was on the court briefly in the second quarter only to be sent back to the bench by La Pine’s athletic trainer after she hit her head diving for a loose ball. Dapron’s playing time didn’t even add up to a full quarter, yet she managed to record 7 rebounds.
Reflections: “We struggled offensively but I liked our effort,” coach Tyler Hollingsworth said. “I like how we played. We didn’t quit once; we just didn’t match their physicality very well.”
Billies recap: For the second game in a row, Creswell’s leading rebounder and go-to offensive player was on the bench with foul trouble. Close to the end of the first half, Dapron attempted to take a charge, but ended up receiving a technical foul back for slamming the basketball. Despite sitting on the bench for 75% of the game, Dapron led the Dawgs statistically with 8 points and 11 rebounds.
Reflections: Hollingsworth said, “All week in practice we talked about taking charges and we had five or six attempts in that game alone. We only got one of them. It’s frustrating as a competitor when you don’t get the results you want.”
WRESTLING
Results: Creswell traveled to Sutherlin on Saturday, Jan. 11. The boys’ varsity team finished last overall but had only two athletes contribute to their team score.
Recap: Josiah Lee led the Bulldogs in the 132-pound weight class by taking second place, wrestling three matches before most teams had wrestled even once. Hugo Taura took fifth place at 138, surpassing athletes from North Bend and Sutherlin. Coach Mario Perez said that Hugo won only four matches last year but is already up to around 15 wins this season. In the girls’ tournament, CHS placed 5th overall despite missing their top performer, Brielle Brick. The two placers for Creswell wrestled each other in the same weight class, 137-150; Kendyl Seiber took second while Guinevere Devore was third.
Reflections: “Josiah pinning that kid after wrestling three matches in such a short period of time is what I’m hoping will be good momentum for the entire team moving forward. Even when he was tired and worn out, he pulled his head together and won. Maybe they really are hearing what I’m saying,” Perez said.
CHS: THE WEEK AHEAD
BOYS BASKETBALL
Friday, Jan. 17
CHS at Harrisburg, 6 p.m.
Wednesday, Jan. 22
CHS vs. Santiam Christian, 6 p.m.
What2Watch: Harrisburg pulled off the upset last week when they beat Santiam Christian at home in their Mountain Valley Conference opener, reminding everyone that on any given night, it can be anyone’s ballgame. “That’s the thing when you play a team three times in a season, all it takes is someone having an off night or someone getting too cocky for it to be anyone’s ballgame,” said CHS head coach Jesse Thomas. Creswell hasn’t won a meeting against Santiam Christian since 2014.
Who2Watch: Harrisburg has a new coach this year and it may cause people to underestimate them. “Being in your first year with a team is hard but I knew that if his players bought into his system that they would be hard to beat,” Thomas said. Harrisburg proved that when they played Santiam Christian, still ranked nine spots above Harrisburg this week. “If they feel underrated then they’ll be playing with a chip on their shoulder, which is always dangerous,” Thomas said.
Notable: In the most recent coaches’ poll, Santiam Christian is ranked 4th overall, Creswell fell a spot to 9th and Harrisburg is ranked #13. Santiam Christian returns junior Josh Baugher, who made First Team All-State last year as a sophomore. His brother, Zach Baugher, plays basketball for Western Oregon University.
Quotable: Thomas said, “It’s important that we keep our proper mindset. We can’t walk into a gym thinking that we’re too good to lose – and if someone else walks into a gym like that, we need to give them a friendly reminder.”
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Friday, Jan. 17
CHS at Harrisburg, 7:30 p.m.
Wednesday, Jan. 22
CHS vs. Santiam Christian, 7:30 p.m.
What2Watch: Creswell tried out a new diamond defense against Pleasant Hill last week, with the intent to stop Santiam Christian with it. Head coach Tyler Hollingsworth said, ”I showed the girls before Pleasant Hill, not really thinking we would use it until Santiam. What they showed me was some defensively-hopeful stuff that proves they’re listening to us.”
Who2Watch: Creswell heads into the second half of the season by playing three Top 10 teams in just 12 days. The Bulldogs started with No. 8 Pleasant Hill last week and this week they’ll take on No. 6 Harrisburg and No. 7 Santiam Christian. Harrisburg will be making up a previously-canceled game at La Pine Monday, Jan. 13, giving the Eagles a long week before they meet CHS next Friday. … Senior Brea Dapron will want to rack up the minutes on the court after missing time with an injury and later in foul trouble.
WRESTLING
Tuesday, Jan. 14
CHS at Santiam Christian dual meet, 5 p.m.
Saturday, Jan. 18
CHS at Siuslaw dual meet, time TBD
Tuesday, Jan. 21
CHS at Douglas dual meet, 6 p.m.
Wednesday, Jan. 22
CHS at Cottage Grove dual meet, time TBD
What2Watch: CHS will compete in four meets in nine days as they start off the second half of the season. “The second half of the season is where you really see who your competition is. These dual meets are the schools we compete against at districts and state. We’ll see if we have what it takes to beat them,” said head coach Mario Perez.
Notable: Expected back this week for the Bulldogs are last year’s state qualifier Rogelio Legorreta and Nick Kubishta, who has been recovering from a rib injury.
“It’ll be nice to have these guys back in the mix again. When you have two guys out, that would place third or fourth in their weight class, it’s a void that we have to try and fill,” he said.
