Making its first state playoff appearance in 44 years, Scio's boys basketball team rose to the occasion Wednesday night.
The No. 15-seeded Loggers (18-7) came out firing – making eight three-pointers in the first half – and cruised to a 66-44 home win over No. 18 Warrenton (15-12) in the first round of the 3A playoffs.
The postseason pressure had little effect on Scio, which will play at No. 2 Pleasant Hill on Saturday for a berth in the eight-team state tournament.
"Overcoming (the nerves) was a huge achievement for us as a team collectively,” Loggers senior Carson Avery said. “We've put a lot of hard work into this, so it means a lot. Our team-ship, our chemistry, that really helped us.”
Leading 17-16 after one quarter, Scio controlled the second quarter, opening a 38-26 halftime edge. The Loggers kept making shots and pulled away when their defense came up with stops.
"We had a few coaches come out to practice and walk us through our defense,” senior Hunter Courtney said. “That really helped us focus in on what we needed to do on defense, and we just locked in from there. We just need to come out and play defense, hit shots. I think we can do it personally.”
Courtney made seven three-pointers on his way to a game-high 29 points. Avery added 12 points.
Scio's last playoff victory also was against Warrenton, a 65-63 overtime win in 1981.
-- Jeremy McDonald contributed to this report
A rundown of Wednesday's other playoff games:
3A
No. 17 Douglas won at No. 16 Neah-Kah-Nie 68-56. Jason Stiles made three three-pointers in the first quarter and finished with 17 points. Reese Willis added 15 points for Douglas. Neah-Kah-Nie's Dylan Sigman had 15 points. … Sisters outscored St. Mary's 35-15 in the second half to win 64-40. Landen Scott scored 23 points, 11 in the pivotal third quarter, and Kale Gardner added 13 points. … Jaylen Hill was the difference for De La Salle North Catholic in its 59-50 win over Sutherlin, putting up 27 points, 13 rebounds and five assists.
1A
Three-time reigning champion Crane, the No. 2 seed, opened a 41-6 halftime lead and knocked out Alsea 70-17. Joah Friedrichsen scored all 18 of his points in the first half. … Top-seeded Mannahouse Academy led 26-0 and routed Perrydale 75-23. Nolan Schweiss and Joshua Louka scored 17 points apiece and Mattias Tonning added 16 points. … No. 3 Nixyaawii outscored Triangle Lake 37-0 in the second quarter on its way to a 117-38 win. Symon Picard scored 36 points, making three three-pointers, for the Golden Eagles. Rylen Bronson had 19 points and Jeffery Van Pelt added 16 points, hitting four triples. Steven Hubbard led Triangle Lake with 11 points. … Behind Darian Schultz (13 points, 12 rebounds) and Parker Crowe (11 points, 18 rebounds), Eddyville Charter dominated St. Paul 44-23. Eddyville held St. Paul's Grady Wolf, the Casco League player of the year, to four points. …Rance Jordan scored 14 of his team-high 17 points in the first half to propel Adrian past Umpqua Valley Christian 71-43. Trey Bayes made three three-pointers and scored 11 points, all in the first half. …
Union dispatched Prairie City/Burnt River 53-34 behind 15 points from Joey McGraw, who made four three-pointers. Landon Fratzke had 12 points and Morgan Johnson added 10 points, 15 rebounds and five assists. … Days Creek dominated Echo 74-43, getting 23 points and 13 rebounds from Keegan Stufflebeam. Aiden Denson had 19 points and seven rebounds and Xane Hopkins added 10 points, seven steals and six assists. …No. 19 Southwest Christian rallied late to knock out No. 14 South Wasco County 42-40. Josh Rydman hit a three-pointer to tie 40-40 and Campbell Dyck made a go-ahead layup in the final seconds. South Wasco County's Jason Hull missed a jumper in the key at the buzzer. Jacob Tamasan led Southwest Christian with 12 points. George Barnett and Hull had 17 and 16 points, respectively, for the Redsides. Hull, a 6-3 junior, scored 914 points this season, No. 3 all-time in the state. …
Crosspoint Christian overcame 7-for-26 free-throw shooting to hold off Condon 62-60. After two missed free throws by Crosspoint Christian with 4.5 seconds left, Condon had a chance to win, but a half-court shot by Blake Carnine glanced off the backboard. Caden Moritz (18 points, nine rebounds), Brock Throne (17 points, eight rebounds) and Davis Hartwell (13 points, seven rebounds) led Crosspoint Christian. Carnine had 18 points for Condon. …Jayden Montgomery and Hunter Vaughn scored 29 and 16 points, respectively, before sitting out the fourth quarter as North Douglas eliminated Grand View Christian Academy 67-33. …
Danyon Schneider made six three-pointers and scored 24 points as Country Christian defeated Mapleton 61-44. Tyson Smith added 14 points. … Cove outlasted Open Door Christian 59-54 in overtime. Caleb Carson scored 17 points and Nathanael O'Reilly added 16 points in the win. … Freshman Brandon Lee hit three three-pointers and scored 24 points to lead North Clackamas Christian past Willamette Valley Christian 68-65. Caleb Norton added 17 points, making four three-pointers. Caleb Reichelt scored 16 points for WVC. ... Rogue Valley Adventist topped Elkton 55-47. Noah Lauesi had 17 points and six rebounds and Braiden Perry had six points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists, five blocks and six steals. ... Dufur held off Chiloquin 56-51 and Sherman handled Pilot Rock/Ukiah 71-37.
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