Friday, January 19, 2007

Three straight for rampaging Cutthroats

Community School holds off Mushers 59-52


By JEFF CORDES
Express Staff Writer

Community School?s Christian Cairncross sends one to the bucket in a Cutthroat varsity basketball game earlier this year. The Cutthroats won their third straight game Tuesday with a 59-52 victory over the Camas County Mushers. Photo by David N. Seelig

When The Community School boys' varsity basketball team went to Richfield and upset the previously unbeaten-in-league Tigers 54-46 on Jan. 11, the Cutthroats entered a new dimension—instant contender.

Coach Mike Wade's Cutthroats, still jazzed up about the upset victory, took the court for the first time since the big Richfield win when they played the resurgent Camas County Mushers Tuesday night in Sun Valley.

And the Cutthroats passed their first test as "contenders." They avenged an earlier 12-point defeat by holding off the Mushers 59-52 behind yet another strong all-around performance by junior Spencer Harris (21 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists).

It was the third consecutive victory for the Cutthroats (7-6, 5-2 home). They squared their Northside Conference record at 4-4 and established themselves as the favorites for the third seed in the seven-team Northside Sub-District tournament behind top cats Carey and Richfield.

Harris (13.4 ppg) has averaged 18.7 in the last six Cutthroat games. But he wasn't the only contributor Tuesday. Max Harris (12 points, 7 boards, 4 steals), Mac Whittington (11 points, 11 rebounds) and Christian Cairncross (8 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists) all played major roles.

So did junior point guard Ian Ingram (6 points, 2 steals, 3 assists), who quietly pilots the Fish offense.

It was a critical league contest that the Cutthroats led from the outset and never trailed, despite a no-quit attitude from the Mushers

"Camas kept coming back and coming back." Wade said. "I was proud of the way the guys kept their composure, hung in there and made shots when we needed them."

Wade added, "The Richfield game gave us a lot of confidence and made the guys feel good about themselves.

"Tonight, we had a good inside-outside mix on offense, and we need to have that balance to be successful," he said. "When we played Camas in Fairfield, they drove on us constantly and went to the free throw line 29 times. This time the guys moved their feet better and shut down their penetration."

With four league games left against Dietrich, Carey, Bliss and Richfield, the Fish need to stick to their winning formula—establish the halftime lead and keep hammering it at the hoop. They've led at halftime in all seven wins. They haven't won this year when trailing at intermission.

Tuesday, 6-5 junior post Whittington (13.9 ppg) scored seven of his 11 points in the second period, helping the Cutthroats to a 32-25 halftime lead.

Wade's team committed only 12 turnovers, but six came in the third quarter as the Mushers, led by Chase Lee (13 points, 12 boards), tied it 36-36 with a 10-0 run.

At that point, Cairncross (34 3-pointers) hit from behind the arc, Spencer Harris scored from the baseline, Max Harris converted a bank on another Ingram assist, and Spencer Harris drilled a 3-pointer after Max retrieved a loose ball with hustle. The lead was 46-38 at the break.

The Mushers (2-8, 1-7 league) pressed effectively in the fourth and tied it again 51-51 with four minutes remaining. But the Cutthroats responded with the game-winning 7-0 run—Spencer Harris passing to Max for a bucket on the press break, Spencer nailing a 17-footer and Ingram stealing for a three-point play.

Wade said the closeness of the game apparently didn't rattle his players. "We'd love to have lots of close games like that to get us ready for the tournament—because we know it will be a dogfight in the tournament," said the veteran coach.

Camas County, playing better basketball with Chase Lee back from an early-season injury, had three players in doubles figures, including Logan Ivie (12 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists) and Trevor Dalin (14 points, 6 boards, 6 assists). Camron Lee (5 points) and Ben McLam (6) were other scorers.

The Cutthroats host the Dietrich Blue Devils (4-8, 2-5) Saturday, Jan. 20, for a 2:30 p.m. league matinee at The Fish Tank. They then clash with Carey (12-2, 6-1) Tuesday, Jan. 23, on the Fish Tank hardwoods.




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