“It’s special to win. We have had a goal since we were here as sophomores to win the title,” senior Logan Morrill said after Knappa beat Heppner 63-50 in the night cap game on opening day of the 2A state finals.
Knappa fans came en force, traveling four and a half hours to cheer on their Loggers.
For all of Knappa’s dreams, Heppner would not roll over and capitulate to the Loggers.
The first minute went better than the Loggers could have planned - a 7-0 run to open the game. But the seniors of Heppner pulled their team together and began to fight back.
“It’s our first time here in 5 years,” Heppner head coach Jeremy Rosenbalm said after the game.
The Mustangs started to figure out the Knappa press and to get into their offense. On defense, Heppner was physical, not allowing Morrill any easy points under the basket.
The game broke down into chaos with teams and players flying all over the court and often ending up littered across the gym floor.
Knappa’s strong defense held firm, despite the chaos. In the first half, the Loggers held Heppner to just 1/8 on 3-point attempts and to 29.2% shooting in general.
Shane McMahan and Morrill also combined for 20 points in the first half, giving the Loggers a 35-18 edge heading into the break.
But Heppner still refused to surrender.
Despite a size disadvantage, Heppner outscored the Loggers 16-10 in the paint in the third quarter. Heppner relentlessly crashed the offensive glass and they out-rebounded Knappa 20-17 in this category.
Additionally, the Loggers could not seem to get their rhythm back on offense.
In a quarter that almost always belongs to Knappa, Heppner outscored the Loggers 18-15.
Unfortunately, this would not be enough to make up the deficit for the Mustangs. “We [Knappa] always would go on a run when we needed to,” Knappa coach Paul Isom said after the game.
With 1:12 to play, Knappa had a 19-point lead and both teams subbed in their benches. Heppner would hit threes on back-to-back possessions, to bring the deficit to 13 points before waiving the white flag.
McMahan led all scorers and finished with 23 points. Morrill ended the game with 20 points, 13 rebounds, and 5 blocks. Senior Joe Sherman led Heppner with 14 points.
”I’m proud and happy with how my boys played,” Rosenbalm said after the game. ”We [Heppner] are here for a reason,” he continued describing his thoughts on tomorrow’s game against Regis.
“The first win is always nice,” Isom said of the game, “We are here to win three games, but you can’t win the third until you win the first two.”
Knappa feels optomistic about the matchup against Salem Academy. “We are prepared this year,” Morrill said. Isom echoed the sentiment, “We have circled Salem Academy all year and we knew we would see them in an important game.”
Last year Knappa lost to Salem Academy 55-33, but both teams have shown to be near equals on paper this season.
Comments