The Toledo Boomers gave the Knappa Loggers a scare on Friday night in the first round of the OSAA state playoffs. Knappa fought through trickeration and heroic gameplay by Toledo to win 62-53 and advance to the quarterfinals.
Although Knappa won the first meeting this year by 27 points, the Boomers executed a disciplined game plan to give themselves a chance to win the game.
The majority of the first half, Toledo played a 4-man zone on defense and left one player on their offensive end of the court. This helped negate Knappa's offensive rebounding and press as the Loggers were forced to defend their basket.
"Knappa is a very good team, so I tried some funky stuff," Toledo head coach Bart Rothenberger said after the game.
Without the press and offensive rebounding, the Logger offense went through dry spells. Only 4 players would score for Knappa all night.
On offense, the Boomers did what they do best: let junior Gunner Rothenberger shoot. Despite double and triple teams, Rothenberger posted 31 points (including all 9 of his free throws).
"We couldn't stop Gunner [Rothenberger]," Knappa senior Shane McMahan said after the game.
Despite Rothenberger's heroics, the Boomers struggled to stop the Northwest League MVP, Logan Morrill, and McMahan for Knappa. Morrill scored 10 of his 20 points in the second quarter while McMahan scored 12 of his 23 points in the third.
The explosive second and third quarters lifted Knappa to a 19-point lead in the fourth quarter. But Toledo refused to throw in the towel.
Senior Sterling Buckley hit two big 3-point shots in the fourth as the Boomers surged back into the game. The Boomers pulled to within 6 points of the Loggers, but clutch play by the Loggers kept the game out of reach.
"I was so stressed out at the end," McMahon said at the end of the game. "It has been our goal to win a state title since freshman year."
Despite "taking years off" of Knappa coach Paul Isom's life, Isom said he was proud of the way the Loggers performed down the stretch.
This playoff run has special meaning for Isom, "They're a special group. They're my first class and we've grown up together."
The Loggers advance to play 7th-seeded Heppner in Pendleton in the Quarterfinals next Thursday at 8:00pm.
Comments