February 29, 2008
By JOE PETSHOW
News Publisher

BAKER CITY - Horizon Christian’s unbeaten streak in boys basketball came to an end Thursday afternoon, when an athletic Crane team defeated the Hawks, 58-50, in the first round of the Class 1A state tournament, but the Hawks bounced back to defeat North Clackamas Christian 68-49 on Friday morning.

The loss eliminated North Clackamas and moved the Hawks into the fifth-sixth place consolation game.

Horizon was scheduled to play at 10:45 a.m. Saturday morning for fourth place in the eight-team tourney.

The Hawks, who led by as many as 32 points in the game, rebounded from a 58-50 opening-round loss to Crane Thursday afternoon. Coach Ron Haynes said he put a challenge down to his players before Friday’s contest.

“With the senior group we have you can challenge them,” he said. “We talked about needing some luck when you get this far ... we said to them, ‘Lets make our own luck.’”

There was nothing lucky about Horizon’s sluggish start against North Clackamas. The Hawks fell behind 9-0 before Haynes called a timeout with 4:18 remaining in the first quarter. Horizon was 0 for 4 from the field and had two turnovers to start the game.

The Hawks awoke in a big way, outscoring North Clackamas 29-10 the rest of the half. Larson scored 16 of those 29 points, as the Saints had no answer for the burly senior’s low post moves. Larson was happy to have Jake Johnson back in the lineup. The junior guard numerous times broke down his defender out front and found Larson with good position down low, or Bobby Cofrances open on the wing. Johnson missed most of the second half of Thursday’s contest after suffering a mild concussion.

Horizon continued to build its lead in the third quarter. The margin was 33-20 with 6:40 to play on a Cofrances runner on the left baseline. On Horizon’s next possession Cofrances spotted up for a 3-pointer to push the margin to 36-20. A Larson putback of his own miss made it 38-20 Hawks.

Horizon padded its lead later in the quarter, as Cofrances hit another 3-pointer with 42 seconds remaining and another with :02 showing. The second trey gave Horizon a 51-28 lead with one period remaining.

Larson finished with 24 points and 12 rebounds. Cofrances had 30 points, including 5-for-7 shooting on 3-pointers.

The blowout win was a marked contrast from the team’s game against Crane on Thursday.

Crane, the No. 2 team from the High Desert League, took the lead for good early in the second quarter, but the outcome was in doubt until the closing seconds. Horizon battled back from eight points behind with three minutes remaining, and the Hawks overcame two other seven-point deficits in the period. But Crane seemingly had an answer for every one of Horizon’s mini runs.

“We’ve been here before and that made a difference,” Crane Coach Stub Travis said. “We were steady when we had to be.”

Horizon senior post Josh Larson also looked comfortable playing in the Baker High gym, especially in the second half. His putback of a missed free throw pulled Horizon to within 50-46 with 1:20 on the clock. The burly Larson sank two free throws with 35 seconds left making the score 54-50, but those proved to be the final Horizon points.

Horizon head coach Ron Haynes was wary of Crane’s overall athleticism and the Mustangs’ penchant to get up and down the floor.

“They’re so darn big and lanky,” Haynes said. “And losing Jake was huge for us.”

Starting guard Jake Johnson suffered a mild concussion in the third quarter and didn’t play the rest of the game.

The large contingent of Horizon fans who made the four-hour trip watched the Hawks take 10-6 and 12-8 leads in the first period. But Crane’s man-to-man defense prevented Horizon from much of a sustained offensive flow.

Crane didn’t lead in the first quarter, but the Mustangs held a 23-16 margin in the second period before settling for a 25-23 advantage at halftime. Horizon committed four of its eight first-half turnovers in the final four minutes of the second quarter. A 7-2 run to close the half, capped by Adam Ohlson’s 3-pointer at the buzzer, gave the Hawks some momentum at the break.

Bobby Cofrances scored 10 of his 18 points in the first half. The 6-foot-4 wing player showed his versatility by scoring in a variety of ways. He drove and made pull-up jumpers, wheeled around screens and slashed to the basket. He added two 3-pointers in the second half, including a step-back trey to pull the Hawks within five points with less than three minutes left.

After Crane turned the ball over, Ohlson made one of two free throws with 2:14 remaining to make it a four-point game at 47-43. That was as close as Horizon would get.

Horizon, making its first appearance in the state tournament, held its last lead at 14-13 a minute into the second quarter on a jumper by Cofrances. A few minutes earlier, Crane looked to be starting to get its playing legs, as the Mustangs hit final three shots of the opening period.

Travis said his team looked tired in the first half. He guessed that might have accounted for the Mustangs’ 1 for 11 shooting to start the game.

“We usually shoot really well,” Travis said. “We didn’t at the start.”

Travis let his team play through the temporary shooting woes.

Dallen Davies scored 16 points for Crane, and teammate Baxter Davies added 18 points.

Larson had 11 rebounds in addition to his 22 points.

“He really got his confidence going,” Haynes said. “He was coming over and saying, ‘Get me the ball.’”