Boys basketball: Knappa lowers the boom on Toledo, 62-53

Published 3:48 pm Sunday, February 27, 2022

The Toledo Boomers had the toughest task in Oregon boys high school basketball Friday night — playing a first round state playoff game at Knappa.

The No. 2 seed Loggers have never lost a first round state playoff at home. They’re 8-0 this century alone. The No. 15 seed Boomers made it much closer than expected, but Knappa’s perfect record is still intact, as the Loggers topped Toledo 62-53, helping Knappa clinch another spot in Pendleton for the 2A state tournament.

The Loggers will take their 25-game win streak to Eastern Oregon later this week, where they will open with a Thursday night game against Heppner. The winner will play Regis or Salem Academy in the semifinals.

Friday’s win in front of a packed house at Knappa was the closest of the Loggers’ 25 straight victories.

“Hats off to Toledo,” said Knappa coach Paul Isom. “They gave us all we could handle, and Gunner (Rothenberger) is one heck of a player,” he said of Toledo’s junior guard, who scored 31 points. “I’d be shocked if he isn’t in the running for state Player of the Year next year.”

Of his own players, Isom said, “I was really proud of all the guys. They have been working hard since their freshmen year to get to this point, and it has paid off so far.”

The Boomers battled a huge size disadvantage in an intimidating environment. Recent history was also not on Toledo’s side.

Facing the Loggers for the third time this season, the Boomers lost the first two meetings, 65-38 and 64-36. It was a near miracle that Toledo was within six points with 1:09 left.

But the Loggers countered with numerous steals by the guards, to go with blocked shots by senior post Logan Morrill (seven), and good old-fashioned Knappa hustle on both ends of the floor.

For much of the first quarter, Toledo played with four defenders, leaving one player at the opposite end of the court while the Loggers were on offense.

“That was a new tactic,” Isom said. “Bart (Rothenberger, Toledo coach) is a really good coach. We knew he was going to throw something at us that we hadn’t seen. Luckily our guys were able to recognize and adjust to it.”

And Toledo’s tactic didn’t last long, as Morrill began to score at will underneath, finishing the first half with 14 of his team-high 24 points.

For the Boomers, junior Gunner Rothenberger — nearly a foot shorter than Morrill — consistently challenged the Knappa post, and scored 16 of his 31 points in the first half, which ended with the Loggers holding a 32-23 lead.

The Loggers opened the third quarter with a 7-0 run, pushed the lead to 45-26 following a three-point play by Shane McMahan, and led 51-32 heading into the fourth quarter. McMahan scored 12 of his 23 points in the third period.

But the Boomers didn’t go quietly, as Toledo opened the final quarter with a 14-4 run, highlighted by a pair of 3-pointers from sophomore Sterling Buckley, inside scores by Andy Mann off the bench, and four more points from Rothenberger, closing to within 57-51.

Rothenberger and Buckley combined to score the first 37 points for Toledo, until a fourth quarter basket by Mann.

The Loggers missed five straight free throws in the final two minutes, but Rothenberger and the Boomers ran out of time and energy, and Knappa’s Brandon Gale and Tanner Jackson made three straight free throws to put the game away.

“Obviously Logan and Shane were huge,” Isom said. “Logan ended with 17 rebounds and seven blocks, and really controlled things defensively. Shane just got in the paint whenever he wanted and really powered our offense.

“I thought all the guys contributed and did their part,” he said. “The bench was also great and brought tons of energy. Trevor (Ogier), Nicolai (Ogier), Carter (Morrill) and Tucker (Kinder) all had valuable contributions when they got their opportunity.”