Fighting Irish stay atop 1B Southeast

OAKESDALE - Coming into Jan. 14, DeSales was ranked second amongst 1B boys basketball teams in the most recent Associated Press Media Poll and Oakesdale was ranked seventh.

The Nighthawks were looking to bounce back after a two-game skid to Sunnyside Christian and Tekoa-Rosalia, and DeSales was looking to defend its position at the top of the 1B Southeast league.

The Fighting Irish ultimately came out on top, beating the Nighthawks 55-37, extending Oakesdale's losing streak to three.

"Defensively, coming into the game, we knew we had to shut down (Jackson) Perry," DeSales head coach Eric Wood said. "He's a spectacular basketball player and (Oakesdale's) got another guard who can shoot the ball really well, so we knew we had to key in on those two guys. And then offensively, we really worked on being patient, but quick."

Patience was a key point for both teams throughout the game, but it wasn't until the second half where that became evident.

In the opening quarter, both teams exchanged leads and kept pace with one another.

Shawn Bober and Logan Brown both scored to open the game, starting the Nighthawks off with a 4-0 lead.

DeSales responded with a 9-0 run.

Back-to-back 3-pointers from Will Lanius (the aforementioned other guard Wood discussed) gave Oakesdale the lead back at 10-9 and the second quarter would begin with the Nighthawks in front 12-11.

The final eight minutes of the first half was when the Fighting Irish started to raise their dukes, and they went into halftime with a 24-19 advantage after a 13-7 run.

DeSales held Oakesdale scoreless for the first four minutes of the third quarter while adding six points to its total. The Fighting Irish ultimately went into the final quarter with a 10-point lead.

DeSales outscored Oakesdale 17-9 in the final quarter for the 18-point decision.

"DeSales is very similar to Sunnyside Christian," Oakesdale head coach Carl Crider said. "One of the top teams in the state. So, you just know you got to be able to bring it for 32 minutes. Eight minutes, 16 minutes isn't enough. They're very physical, they're quick, so being able to stop penetration (in the paint) is a key.

"That really hurt us in the first half when we were scoring, and they were getting to the basket and getting easy looks. But we were knocking down tough shots. Then they just wore us down over the course of the game."

A bright spot for the Nighthawks was the play of Bober, who was able to provide an interior presence for Oakesdale throughout the game with multiple starters in foul trouble.

"Shawn does a great job because he does bring us kind of a physical presence," Crider said. "I mean, you look at some of our other bodies and they're either smaller, in terms of height, or thinner.

"And (Shawn's) able to get out there and bang pretty good and he does a good job rotating and taking charges, which is kind of one of those unsung hero parts of the game. He brings that to the table for our team and does a good job at it."

Oakesdale with the loss falls to 9-7 overall and 5-3 in league competition. DeSales improved to 13-1 overall and 10-0 in league play.

Oakesdale was paced by Jackson Perry's 13 points. Lanius added 11 in the win.

DeSales was led with 17 points from Spencer Green. Jack Lesko added 12 and Joe Baffney contributed 11. Caden McCollaugh rounded up the Irish' double-digit scores with 10 points.

DESALES (13-1, 10-0)

Jack Lesko 3 6-8 12, Carter Green 1 0-2 3, Joe Baffney 3 5-7 11, Spencer Green 6 2-2 17, Sal Sisk 0 0-0 0, Billy Hotzinger 0 0-0 0, Caden McCollaugh 5 0-1 10, Danny Freeman 1 0-0 2, Sean Sollars 0 0-0 0, Daniel Balof 0 0-0 0, Remy Arceo 0 0-0 0. Totals 19 13-20 55.

OAKESDALE (9-7, 5-3)

Logan Brown 4 1-1 9, Alex McHargue 1 0-0 2, Emeric Anderson 0 0-2 0, Karl Cooper 0 0-0 0, Jackson Perry 5 2-2 13, Shawn Bober 1 0-1 2, Will Lanius 4 0-0 11, Austin Goyke 0 0-0 0, Dawson Lobdell 0 0-0 0, Jaxon Eads 0 0-0 0. Totals 15 3-6 37.

DESALES 11 13 14 17–55

OAKESDALE 12 7 9 9–37

3-point goals – S. Green 3, C. Green, Lanius 3, Perry