Canby Herald Online

Tualatin 53, Canby 38: Canby's struggles continue in loss to Tualatin

Cougars shoot 31 percent from field in Tuesday’s 15-point loss to Timberwolves

• By: Alex Tam  
• Published: 2/2/2010 4:29:44 PM

Photo By: Alex TamBoys basketball: Tualatin 53, Canby 38
Canby High School junior Justin Langford goes up a shot over Tualatin High School senior Collin Knudsen during the Cougars' 53-38 loss on Tuesday on the road.

TUALATIN — Frustration nearly hit a boiling point for the Canby boys basketball team.

The struggling Cougars had what coach Dane Walker described as the most frustrating loss of the season in a 53-38 defeat to Tualatin on Tuesday at Tualatin High School.

It was the team’s sixth loss over the past seven games as Canby continues to fight to stay within striking distance for the playoffs.

“Yeah, without a doubt (it’s frustrating),” Walker said. “But I’ll put that on me. I’ll take responsibility for this one. The kids played really hard, they play hard. We’re just frustrated as a group, me included right now.”

Canby stayed within striking distance in the first half, facing just a 28-21 halftime deficit.

However, a somewhat listless second half that saw the Timberwolves take control and get any type of shot they wanted, including several free passes to the hoop, proved to be the Cougars’ downfall.

Tualatin led by as many as 13 points in the third quarter, and as much as 17 in the fourth quarter as Canby never made a serious challenge to close the gap.

Walker said he is taking full responsibility for how his team is playing right now, particularly offensively. It was Canby’s fifth game this season where it scored fewer than 40 points.

“It’s just inconsistency offensively,” he said. “And I’m having a hard time putting my finger on why we’re not getting an easier look at the basket. We’re getting up and down, we’re doing a pretty good job transitioning. It just seems to be the little things that are an accumulation of little things.”

The Cougars shot 14 of 45 from the field (31.1 percent) for the game, while Tualatin’s slew of layups led to 22 of 39 shooting (56 percent).

“(Tualatin) finally figured out in the third quarter that they could just drive to the basket,” Walker said. “Our goal was to put a lot of pressure on them and not let them dictate tempo of the game. For the most part in the first half, we created a lot of turnovers and did what we wanted to do. We just aren’t taking advantage of the windows that are given to us at given times.”

Senior Ryan Wall led Canby with 14 points as the lone Cougar in double figures. Junior Justin Langford and senior Josh Yoder each had six points, and freshman Michael Walker added five.

Sophomore Andrew Evans had four points.

Senior Collin Knudsen led Tualatin with 14 points, senior Shahyar Solati added 12 and senior Michael MacPherson had 10.

“We need to get a couple breaks go our way,” Walker said. “For some reason, the balls don’t bounce our way or we don’t get a call I think we should get. And we shoot 30 percent from the field. It’s hard to win when you shoot 30 percent from the field.”

Up next, Canby travels to Newberg on Tuesday and to Forest Grove on Friday. The Cougars hosted McMinnville on Friday but results were not available at press time.

Walker said he is still confident that his players can turn it around over the second half of the schedule.

“It’s just a matter of making a few more good decisions,” he said. “Last year, we underachieved. I don’t think this year’s team has underachieved. I think this year’s team is playing extremely hard. We’re just not making shots and we’re not getting a break.

“We’re not making good decisions at crucial times and to be honest, at times, I could do better too. It’s a team game, coaching staff all the way down.”

	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final
Canby Cougars	12	9	10	7	38
Tualatin Timberwolves	16	12	16	9	53

Canby – Ryan Wall 14, Langford 6, Yoder 6, Walker 5, Evans 4, Kuznetsov 2, Anderson 1, Newby, Zamora, H. Sanders, E. Sanders
Tualatin – Collin Knudsen 14, Shahyar Solati 12, Michael MacPherson 10, VanDomelen 6, B. Richter 4, Suyematsu 2, Ness 2, J. Richter 2, Moreland 1, Miller, France, Parsons, Ekpo
Field goals: Canby 14-45 (31.1 percent), Tualatin 22-39 (56 percent)
Free throws: Canby 7-12 (58.3 percent), Tualatin 9-13 (69.2 percent)
Turnovers: Canby 13, Tualatin 13

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