Background
The Neah-Kah-Nie Pirates faced off against the Falcons of Faith Bible in their first game back since January 4th. The Pirates were 3-0 (1-0 in league play), however they were down their leading scorer and both starting posts due to COVID protocol. This left them with only 6 full-time varsity players and only 3 of their regular starters. Faith Bible came into last night's game coming off a big win at Vernonia and leading the league in offense. The Falcons were looking to maintain their third-place standing in conference play and stay in contention for a playoff berth.
Summary
Both teams came out with a lot of energy going up and down the court in a fast-paced start. Junior wing Espen White carried the Pirates offensively in the first few minutes of the game by driving on the man-to-man defense of Faith Bible. Neah-Kah-Nie's aggression early on led to four fouls in the first three minutes of the game being called on Faith Bible. The Falcon's coach called a timeout and gathered his team. Coming out of the timeout, freshman Ezekiel Cook was substituted in to play defense on White. Cook's lock-down spy defense helped cool the Neah-Kah-Nie offense while Faith Bible began to pick apart Neah-Kah-Nie's 1-2-2 zone with great ball movement. After the first quarter, Faith Bible led 13-8. The second quarter was less even. Landon Young shot 3/4 on 3-point shots leading an explosion by the Falcon's offense. Even on missed shots, the Falcons routinely pulled in offensive rebounds to give themselves second and third opportunities to score. Not having their posts hurt Neah-Kah-Nie as the height differential was proving decisive. Eddie Loza hit a couple of 3-point shots to give Neah-Kah-Nie some life, but it was not enough. At half, the score was 27-13 in favor of the Falcons. The story continued into the second half. Despite the energetic play of Loza, White, Matthew Erickson, the Pirates could not keep pace with the hungry Falcons. Six different Falcons scored from beyond the arch as they dominated the second half. But Neah-Kah-Nie refused to quit. Early in the fourth quarter, the Pirate's 2-2-1 full-court press helped them pull within 12 points of Faith Bible only to be met with a substitution and a scoring run by the Falcons. The final score was 58-37 in favor of Faith Bible.
Takeaways
Neah-Kah-Nie is back playing again, which is great for their team. The Pirates put on a good fight despite being down three major contributors on the team. This has given other players a chance to gain experience and develop themselves. This team is definitely in the mix for one of the Northwest League's two playoff berths. Coach Erick White said that he was proud of how his boys played in the face of adversity, "All we ask is that they give it their all and they did." They face a stiff test next week with four games - two of them against the OSAA #3-ranked Knappa Loggers, but they also expect the return of their full team by their second game against Knappa. Their next game is Monday, at home, versus the Loggers.
Faith Bible scored a key victory in league, putting them solidly in third place. The team effort showed against Neah-Kah-Nie and they are a very evenly-talented team. So even, in fact, that starting spots are determined as a part of an on-going assessment each practice. The Falcons face an immediate test tonight at Nestucca. It is a long bus ride and the even matchup with between the Falcons and Bobcats led Coach Masterson to comment that the key to winning is a good start. Should they emerge victorious this evening then the Falcons would be continuing to make good on their goal to "turn talent into wins" as well as putting them in excellent position to face Mannahouse next Tuesday.
Post Script
If you saw someone that deserves a shoutout for their play, please put it in the comments so others can appreciate the good work being done by these players. Additionally, if there are any pictures that you took of the game you feel comfortable sharing, please share them to my email, lincoln.james.miller@gmail.com, and I will give full picture credit.
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