Johnie Logue
Sports Reporter
At the 2:26 mark, Cole Camp guard Ethan Shearer fouled out with his team trailing 38-32. A pair of three throws by Dixon made it 40-32 and things looked bleak for the Cole Camp Bluebirds in third place action on Saturday in the Stover tournament.
A full-court press and timely free throws brought Cole Camp a 45-42 come from behind sweet victory.
Gentry Dieckman, who had 16 points to lead Cole Camp commented after the game, "I looked up at the clock and we were down ten in the fourth. Our press hurt them and we made our free throws at the end."
A great steal and layup by Grady Strathman underneath the basket and a Dieckman steal at the other end which saw him drive to the basket for ahuge bucket made it 39-42. A free throw by the 6'6" Dieckman drew them to one at 42-41 with 34.3 seconds to go. Four free throws by Owen Ives and Strathman made it 45-42.
Dixon had a chance in the final seconds but Case Sindon, who had hit four threes earlier, passed up the shot and passed inside to Drake Young who was surrounded by Bluebirds and shot an air ball.
"We knew either number two (Sindon) or number 23 (Young) would take the shot. We defended well against him."
Cole Camp started off well leading 11-3 after one. Dixon hit a three at the buzzer to take a 20-18 lead at the half. Cole Camp struggled in the third with just three points and trailed 31-21 going into the final frame. Tyler Howard also made two big free throws down the stretch. Ives had a big game with ten points and went 4-for-5 from the stripe. Cole Camp was 14-for-25 from the line but made 11 of 14 in the fourth with the game on the line.
Cole Camp moved to 8-3 on the season.
COLE CAMP (45): Strathman 4, Shearer 3, Harrison 4, Dieckman 16, Howard 2, Wissman 2, Ives 10 and Oelrich 2.
DIXON (42): Sindon 12, Barnes 2, Drake Young 16, D. Young 4, McBride 4, Martin 3.
* * *
On Monday night, Cole Camp came in as the third seed and took on sixth seeded Holden. The game was played in the old gym as the Dome had games going on at the same time.
The contest started out slow as Holden took an early 4-0 lead. Josh Taylor hit a three to put Holden ahead 9-8 at the end of the first.
"Their plan was to box Michael Wissman inside. We went to the press earlier than we wanted to but we needed to open things up," Cole Camp coach Kevin Shearer said.
The press worked as they led 25-14 at the half.
In the second half, it was all Cole Camp as they stretched their lead to 45-24. The final score was 55-36.
Holden held Wissman to three points but only had four players in the scoring column.
Junior Aiden Morarity had a game high 21 for Holden.
Reid Harrison returned from an injury for Cole Camp and will be a huge help as the season continues to progress. Cole Camp moved to 7-2.
COLE CAMP (55): Shearer 14, Strathman 9, Harrison 4, Bright 6, Dieckman 12, Olerichs 3, Wissman 3, Ives 4.
HOLDEN (36): Morarity 21, Taylor 10, Van Meter 1, Hankins 4.
* * *
The achilles heel of Cole Camp's tough defense may have been exposed in Wednesday night's semifinal, or at least for one night.
Eugene, seeded second, took apart third seeded Cole Camp 62-40 in the matchup. Cole Camp led early at 4-0 on layups by Grady Strathman and Michael Wissman. From there the sharp shooting Eugene club built a 18-8 first quarter lead.
A full court press by Eugene forced turnovers and tough shots by Cole Camp. Eugene's quick hands stole the ball numerous times and led at the half, 25-17 with Cole Camp still within reach.
Cole Camp's floor leader Ethan Shearer fought back with some inside baskets and a much needed three but was in foul trouble and eventually fouled out late in the fourth quarter. Eugene's quickness and sharpshooting kept Cole Camp from making a comeback. Free throws were a problem also as Cole Camp was 3-for-9 at the free throw line while Eugene went 17-for-21.
In the fourth, Cole Camp fell apart giving up some easy layups as Eugene pulled away. Cole Camp fell to 7-3 on the season.
COLE CAMP (40): Strathman 4, Shearer 14, Harrison 3, Ives 7, Olerichs 4, Wissman 7,
EUGENE (62): Belt 15, Busch 13, Bittle 11, Renn 3, Sharp 7, Wunderlick 6, Hart 3, Allen 4.
