After a close loss back on December 3rd, the Knappa Loggers have refused to lose another game. With Knappa’s 23-1 record, 25-0 Crane (1A) is the only boys team in the state can claim to have more wins than them.
Last night, the Loggers had one last challenge to their flawless run through regular season Northwest League play. It was a rematch of Wednesday’s game against the Mannahouse Lions.
With the league title secured, playing on the road, and having the game fall on the opponent’s senior night, there was potential for this to be an upset. However, the Loggers stayed laser-focused and delivered another elite performance, winning the game 54-33.
The first half was a physical affair with many fouls called on both teams and many more left uncalled. The slow-paced grind led to a low-scoring couple of quarters where the Loggers managed to hold the Lions to just 13 points. Going into the break, Knappa led 24-13.
The fans were loud, but Knappa came out in force, outnumbering the home team fans. When asked about the environment, Knappa coach Paul Isom commented that, “It was a nice last game before playoffs.” And that the community support was very appreciated by the team.
To start the third quarter, the referees were determined to reduce the physicality and called multiple fouls early. The players adjusted to the game and the pace picked up.
Senior Logan Morrill led the way in scoring for the Loggers by dropping 8 of his 13 points in the third quarter. The Logger press forced turnovers.
The third quarter included one of the prettiest sequences the Loggers have had all year. Senior Shane McMahan stole the ball, and flipped a no-look, behind-the-back assist to Tanner Jackson who completed a 3-point play. On the next possession, McMahan secured another steal leading to a Logger bucket. Just when it looked like Mannahouse was going to get a breakaway basket against Knappa’s press, Morrill pinned the shot to the backboard. Knappa then found Brandon Gale who hit his fourth 3-point shot of the game.
Mannahouse called a timeout to stem the 11-0 run by Knappa. This did little to stop the bleeding as Knappa went on to put the game out of reach by out scoring Mannahouse 24-5 in the third.
”We own the third quarter,” Isom said after the game, “We try to close the door [on opponents] in the first few minutes.”
Mannahouse got their offense going in the fourth quarter, but the 30-point deficit was too much to make up. The Lions out scored the Loggers 15-6 in the fourth.
Morrill and Gale scored 16 a piece to lead all scorers. McMahan was close behind with 15 of his own points for the Loggers. Sophomore Jadon Bjornsgard led Mannahouse with 10 points on the night.
As the Northwest League regular-season champion, Knappa will play next Saturday at 3:30pm at Vernonia High School. Their opponent will be the winner of a four-team “ladder” playoff. The winner of the league tournament will receive a top-eight seed and home playoff game.
When asked how he will prepare his team for their unknown opponent, Isom said that, “We just need to run our stuff. The playoffs are all about how good are you at what you do.”
Mannahouse finished second in league and will play either Vernonia, Columbia Christian, or Faith Bible on Thursday at home.
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