A decline was inevitable for Marshfield's boys basketball team when it was gutted by graduation in 2022, stripping the Pirates of the nucleus that led them to the 4A Showcase title in 2021.
“It was just a mass exodus, like the entire program,” coach Jesse Ainsworth said.
But Marshfield has gradually worked its way back to relevance. After going 11-15 and 14-11 the last two seasons, the Pirates are 13-2 this season. They are No. 1 in both the OSAA power rankings and the OSAAtoday 4A coaches poll.
“We kind of hit rock bottom a little bit, and we've been able to put enough pieces together,” Ainsworth said. “We dug ourselves out of quite a trough. At the beginning of the season, maybe others didn't expect much of us, but we've been quietly making noise.”
Senior point guard Steel Carpenter (5-10) and senior forward Luke Jackson (6-8), third-year starters, are showing the way. Carpenter has been the catalyst, averaging 18.4 points, 4.1 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 4.9 steals. The left-handed Jackson – who as a freshman “tripped over every painted line in the gym,” joked Ainsworth – is blossoming, putting up 12.8 points, 10.0 rebounds and 3.0 blocks.
“He's got great instincts,” Ainsworth said of Jackson, who is drawing college interest.
The other starters are sophomore forward Keller Vinyard (10.9 points, 6.0 rebounds), senior forward Jonah Martin and freshman guard Jackson Ainsworth, the coach's son and the brother of Mason Ainsworth, who became Marshfield's all-time leading scorer before graduating in 2022 and starting a college career at Eastern Oregon.
“We've got a great blend of seniors that have been doing it for a while and some really talented freshmen and sophomores,” Jesse Ainsworth said.
The Pirates, loaded with shooters, like to fire away from deep. It's an offensive philosophy that is preached all the way down to the lower levels of the youth program.
“Our offensive system is based on spacing,” Jesse Ainsworth said. “We can stretch the floor with our big. Fortunately, all the bigs we have can shoot. We like layups, but we love threes.”
For teams to hang with Marshfield, they must shoot well. But it's not easy to find clean looks against the Pirates, who are holding opponents to a 4A-low 41.0 points per game.
“We pride ourselves on the defensive end,” Jesse Ainsworth said. “Our defense is built on pressure, but we also lean into our half-court defense. Our goal is 48 or less a game.”
The Pirates picked up their most important win of the season Friday when they went on the road to defeat No. 4 Marist Catholic 49-41 in a pivotal Sky-Em League game. They now stand alone in the first place at 4-0.
Jackson Ainsworth scored 16 points to lead Marshfield, which also got 14 points from Jackson and 13 points from Carpenter. The Pirates did not shoot well but won with defense.
Marshfield also has defeated No. 7 North Marion 64-53, No. 10 Hidden Valley 65-55 and 3A No. 5 Cascade Christian 57-51. The Pirates lost to No. 5 Crook County 39-38 and 5A No. 4 Redmond 57-43.
The Pirates are starting to gain respect, even if they aren't exactly intimidating.
“We don't win any eye contests in warm-ups,” Jesse Ainsworth said. “We are stringy. We have some height, but we don't have any girth. There are no bangers. I think we surprise a lot of people.”
With young talent on the roster and a flourishing youth program, the future is promising for Marshfield.
Ainsworth has three more sons – grades 8, 7 and 5 – on the way. His brother, Justin, Marshfield's former football coach and the district superintendent, also has two sons in the youth program.
“We should be good for a while,” Jesse Ainsworth said. “We've got some dudes coming. We're super excited.”
Wolfpack rally stuns West Linn
Rising Caldera, No. 2 in the OSAAtoday 5A coaches poll, got a signature win Friday, wiping out a nine-point deficit in the final four minutes to turn back 6A No. 7 West Linn 78-76.
Senior guard Miles Macomber scored nine points in the final two minutes, including the game-winning shot with 1.6 seconds left, as the host Wolfpack (10-4) dropped the Lions (10-3) to finish their nonleague schedule.
West Linn started hot, taking a 30-19 lead after one quarter, but Caldera stayed within striking range. Senior guard Jack Bents and Macomber finished with 21 and 19 points, respectively.
“We got that win through our belief and grit,” Caldera coach Evan Dougherty told the Bend Bulletin. “I know we could have folded after that first quarter. We tried to keep them in front of us and get out on shooters. We just stayed focused. We talked all season about trying to put a full game together, especially offensively, and we did that today.”
Caldera trailed 70-61 with four minutes left but rallied behind Macomber. He made a three-pointer and a layup for a 76-74 lead with 30 seconds to go. With the game tied 76-76, he drove and banked in a fadeaway jumper to put his team up 78-76 with 1.6 seconds remaining.
Caldera opens Intermountain Conference play Wednesday at Ridgeview (7-8).
“This is a great starting point for IMC play, we are really excited about that,” Macomber told the Bend Bulletin. “It feels like being IMC champs could be coming our way.”
Key injury for Lions
West Linn's loss to Caldera was its second in a row after losing senior forward Gavin Gross to a broken wrist on his shooting (right) hand.
The 6-5 Gross, who is averaging 11.6 points, suffered the injury on a hard fall early in the team's 61-58 win at Clackamas on Jan. 10. He is wearing a cast and is expected to be out for at least six weeks.
“It definitely changes our team,” Lions coach Travis Myers said. “He has been such a steady presence offensively and our best defender so far this season. We need to replace his production across the board. Everyone will have to take on a little bit more to make up for it.”
West Linn lost at No. 6 Jesuit 64-52 on Jan. 14 before falling at Caldera.
Myers said the team is hopeful that Gross will return for the stretch run.
OC flexes
Co-No. 8 Oregon City signaled that it is ready to contend for the 6A Three Rivers League title with a 63-52 home win over No. 4 Tualatin in the league opener for both teams Jan. 14.
Senior Gylan Payne made three three-pointers and finished with 22 points, nine rebounds, nine assists and four steals to lead the upstart Pioneers (12-3, 2-0). The win avenged a 76-56 loss to the Timberwolves (12-4, 1-1) in the Capitol City Classic on Dec. 23.
“We were much more consistent on defense this time around for four quarters,” Oregon City coach Aaron Newkirk said. “In our first matchup, we were unable to sustain our concentration for extended periods of time, which you have to do against a team that scores the ball as well as Tualatin does. Offensively, we are starting to show more balance in our scoring.”
Sophomore guard Eli Hopkins scored 15 points and sophomore post Alarion Scott added seven points and nine rebounds for Oregon City, which bounced back from a 53-42 home loss to No. 5 Westview in its previous game.
The Pioneers improved to 2-0 in league by defeating visiting Tigard 62-47 on Friday. Hopkins scored 20 points and Payne added nine points, nine rebounds, eight assists and three blocks.
Payne poured in 25 points Monday as Oregon City beat Cleveland 71-57 in an MLK Showcase game at Lincoln.
