Mac boys on three game skid
The McMinnville boys hung tough with David Douglas on the road Tuesday, but couldn’t avoid their third straight loss, losing 54-46 to the Scots.
Brayden Mix led the way for the Grizzlies with 16 points on 5-of-15 shooting, and hit 4-of-5 from the line.
Kane Sullivan and Tomas Merlier each added six points and Noah Neuschwanger chipped in with five points to go with four of Mac’s 11 steals.
One of those steals came with about 3 minutes left on a nice defensive rotation while two teammates had a Scot trapped in the corner. Neuschwanger intercepted the pass and drove the other way for a lay-in to pull the Grizzlies within four points.
Mac forced several turnovers early in the game, but struggled to turn them into points, and Mac trailed 16-5 in the first.
After the half, three-pointers by Mix and Kaleb Long kept the Grizzlies in the game.
Merlier, who made the jump this season to varsity from JV2, was efficient in just nine minutes of play, hitting 3-of-5 from the field with three rebounds.
Last Friday, Mac lost another close one on its home floor against Central, 51-47.
Mac was down double digits much of the first half, but pulled within five, 26-21, following three-pointers by Neuschwanger and Herrick. After the break, back-to-back threes by Herrick knotted the game up at 33 apiece.
With under three minutes left in the game, Mix hit a three-pointer to cut Central’s lead to 44-41.
After a few back-and-forth possessions without any buckets, Mix was fouled and hit both free throws to make it 44-43 with just under a minute left.
Central’s David Walle his a three on the next possession to extend the lead to four, but Mix drove right down and his a tough running bank shot with two defenders in his face with 21 seconds left.
Mac was forced to foul as the seconds ticked away, and Central hit four free throws to seal the game.
Mix led Mac scorers with 14 points and had three assists. Bryce Herrick was hot from the outside, hitting 4-of-6 from behind the arch to account for all 12 of his points.
Kane Sullivan did a lot of the dirty work, finishing with seven rebounds (four of them offensive) and a team-high three steals.
The Grizzlies will face Ridgefield tonight at 6 p.m. in the first round of the McNary Holiday Tournament, with a second game tomorrow to be determined.
Comments