FOREST GROVE — At halftime of their Class 4A state quarterfinal game against Henley on Thursday, March 9, the Baker Bulldogs were in a good position to advance to the semifinals.
Baker led 37-35 on the strength of sharp outside shooting, making 7 of 14 tries from 3-point range.
But the Hornets, 17-6 and the Skyline Conference champions, turned things around with a strong second half performance, outscoring Baker 42-24 to win 77-61 at Forest Grove High School.
The loss snapped a 10-game win streak for Baker, which dropped to 22-5 on the season.
Baker coach Jebron Jones credited Henley.
“They did a great job of executing their game plan and they took care of the ball offensively,” Jones said. “We missed a lot of layups, we missed three-pointers and we turned the ball over too often (16 turnovers) and they capitalized on our mistakes for sure.”
Baker got off to a good start and went up 7-2 early in the first quarter after Isaiah Jones made a free throw, Paul Hobson made all three free throws after being fouled on a 3-point shot, and Grant Gambleton fired in a 3-pointer from the top of the key.
After the Hornets scored eight straight to lead 10-7, the Bulldogs responded with a 10-6 run, capped by a 10-foot baseline jumper by Isaiah Jones, who led Baker with 20 points, and the Bulldogs led 17-16 after one quarter.
In an evenly played first half, the two squads traded baskets throughout a fast-paced second quarter. Led by the quartet of Jones, Jaxon Logsdon, Hobson and Jaron Long, Baker outscored Henley 20-19 to take a 37-35 halftime advantage.
But Jebron Jones said he wasn’t overly confident despite the lead.
“I really didn’t feel too good at any point of the game, because we just did a lot of uncharacteristic things,” he said. “They (Hornets) did a better job of playing the way they wanted to and we just didn’t play very well. When our shots didn’t fall in the fourth quarter, then it started to have an adverse effect upon the guys. We had some lapses on the defensive end that led to them getting some easy buckets for sure.”
The contest was a seesaw battle for three quarters, with a total of four ties and 13 lead changes.
Long’s 3-pointer with 6:49 left in the third quarter gave Baker its biggest lead, 42-37.
Henley regained the lead at 49-45 midway through the third quarter, but a 5-0 Bulldogs run, capped by a 3-pointer from the corner by Hudson Spike, lifted Baker in front for its final lead of the game at 50-49.
Henley dominated from there, ending the game with a 28-9 run.
Led by 6-foot-7 junior post Markus McCreadie, who made 12 of 13 shots and led all scorers with 29 points, Henley went on an 8-2 run to take a 57-52 lead going into the final period.
The Hornets had everything going their way in the fourth quarter offensively and defensively as they outscored the Bulldogs 20-9.
McCreadie was nearly unstoppable in the lane, with all his baskets coming from the key. He helped the Hornets to a 50-16 advantage in points in the paint.
With teammates repeatedly driving the baseline or the key and then passing to McCreadie for easy baskets, the Hornets’ inside dominance more than offset Baker’s big advantage in 3-pointers, as the Bulldogs made 10 shots from long range to Henley’s three.
The Hornets were 17 of 25 from the field in the second half — 68%. Baker, meanwhile, was just 7 of 29 — 24% — including 3 of 13 on 3-pointers.
“At the end of the day, we still want to play three games,” Jebron Jones said. “We didn’t get our goal that we wanted in the first game, but we will hopefully have two more days to perform and I hope the guys come out ready to play better. Our goal was get here and win three games, so we didn’t meet that goal. We have a chance to win two more games and get a trophy and that’s our goal now.”
Baker lost two games at the 2022 state tournament at Coos Bay.
HENLEY (77)
Cheyne 3 1-2 8, Boersma 7 2-2 17, Stork 3 1-2 6, Bennett 2 1-2 6, McCreadie 12 5-6 29, Hayes 3 4-5 10, Janney 0 0-0 0, Chavez 0 0-0 0, Frank 0 0-0 0, Harper 0 0-0 0, Montag 0 0-0 0. Totals 30 14-19 77.
BAKER (61)
Gambleton 1 0-0 3, Rigueiro 2 0-0 4, I. Jones 5 8-10 20, Long 4 0-0 9, Hobson 3 3-3 12, Logsdon 2 0-0 5, R. Jones 0 0-0 0, Spike 3 0-0 8, Jensen 0 0-0 0, Gentry 0 0-0 0. Totals 20 11-13 61.
Henley 16 19 22 20 — 77
Baker 17 20 15 9 — 61
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