Forest Grove 53, Newberg 46: Five Takeaways
The Pacific League may be brand new and it’s a bit unknown how the standings will turn out, but there’s no question the conference race will be competitive. After some recent losses some wondered if Forest Grove was for real,…
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Continue ReadingThe Pacific League may be brand new and it’s a bit unknown how the standings will turn out, but there’s no question the conference race will be competitive. After some recent losses some wondered if Forest Grove was for real, but the Vikings bounced back from a recent loss to Sherwood to stay on the heels of the Bowmen and Century with a 53-46 win over Newberg on the road.
In the early going, it appeared that Forest Grove would run away with the victory over the injury-plagued Tigers. The Vikings opened the game on a 12-0 run, and after Newberg responded with a 12-0 run of their own, Forest Grove ran off another 13 consecutive points. The Vikings never trailed but had to find off a late charge by Newberg before pulling out the win.
“It was a game where it looked like we were going to run off with it, but it was a weird game that I’ll have to go back on film to figure out what happened,” said Forest Grove head coach Greg Evers. “But We definitely have the attributes of what could be a good team. Our team is coming together and we’re doing constant stuff to build ‘us’, build ‘we’, and build ‘team’ and I think it’s happening. We can be pretty good but it’s going to take all 12 of us.”
Sophomore Braden Hudgins led the Vikings with 12 points while junior guard Jack Chlumak led Newberg with 23 points and 15 rebounds.
Vikings Score With Balance
Evers’ team does it on offense with a balance balanced attack – both in terms of personnel and method. The Vikings can shoot it outside with 6-foot-4 sophomore Braden Hudgins (three three-pointers), can take it to the hole like 6-foot junior point guard Guy Littlefield (seven points), can score down low on the post-up with 6-foot-5 senior Ayden Purcell (nine points), and have athletic guys like lanky 6-foot-6 senior Henry Tongues (11 points) who can do a little bit of everything.
Evers Developing His Bench
Hudgins actually started the year in the starting lineup and was moved to the bench due to a need to improve defensively, but he has provided instant offense for the Vikings as a reserve. In addition to him, undersized 6-foot-1 sophomore post James Irvine also gave the team some energy and toughness down low. Evers played a total of ten players against Newberg and noted after the game that he is trying his best to give as many guys playing time as possible.
Chlumak Trying His Best
Newberg is dealing with some injury issues right now so Jack Chlumak is doing his best to fill in the gaps. The 6-foot-4 junior is a natural point guard but he is forced to step up offensively, something he’s not completely comfortable with. But the well-built Chlumak has been giving it a good effort and against Forest Grove after a slow start in the first half, he bounced back in the second and ended up with his first double-double of the year along with a couple of assists and steals.
Newberg Clearly Misses Jaczko
While there are a few players out of action for head coach Mark Brown’s Tigers, the key guy missing is unquestionably Alex Jaczko. The 6-foot-5 senior is a proven scorer who can do damage in so many ways and his ability to carry the load offensively has been extremely difficult to replace. Chlumak as noted had to step up and senior post Kyle Kruse was also asked to do more but unfortunately the normally deadeye shooter really struggled from the field, ending up with only eight points on 3-for-14 shooting.
Vikings and Tigers Should Both Be in the Mix
Forest Grove certainly looks like they’ve got a real shot at a playoff berth. They’ve beaten the teams they were supposed to beat and then really put in a good effort against Sherwood in the first matchups between the teams. And despite their record, it would be wise to not count out Newberg. The return of a healthy Alex Jaczko will obviously make a difference but they also have a budding star in Jack Chlumak who will excel back in his normal role as a lead guard.