By Jeremy McDonald

jeremymcdonald73@gmail.com

SALEM, Ore.– It took until the third quarter, but the Sprague Boys Basketball team found that extra gear to pull away from North Salem Friday night 68-43.  Adjusting to the style of play that the Vikings had offered and adjusting to Maverick Huynh, who had 10 of his 13 in the first half alone as they turned a 37-30 lead two minutes into the third quarter to a 52-37 lead by the start of the fourth quarter.

Momentum continued into the fourth quarter as Sprague picked up their fifth Central Valley Conference victory at home.

“To come out of the gate, we were just hitting shots.  Me and my team and I played great.  I’m happy with the way we played.  I think we fouled a little too much, but other than that, good game, good win,” Sprague’s Liam Spencer said.  “(North) is a strong team for sure, they were aggressive.”

“We’re putting together three quarters. It seems like out of four, if we can put four together, we have a shot.  That’s what we’re working towards and if we can get consistent for four quarters, that’s all we’re asking for.  Put us in that position and I think these kids can pull it off,” North Salem Head Coach Brian Huber said.  “We’re not going to give up, we’re going to keep scrapping and fighting.”

Huber spoke highly of Huynh, who’s finally coming back from an ankle injury and looked as if the sophomore hasn’t skipped a beat with his performance Friday as the Vikings close out the season with West Salem, McNary and South Salem.

“He’s been practicing the last two weeks and it was good to get him some live-action.  How awesome of a kid he is and how he prepares, he’s ready to go and he’s picking up where he left off.  Doing that as a sophomore is a big deal, he’s going to be a big piece of our team in the future,” Huber said.

For Sprague, they head to play McNary as they hope to finally pull off a win against the Celtics after McNary pulling the victory in the first two meetings of the series.  The Olympians then host South Salem and West Salem,  looking to finish the season strongly.

“We’re hungry for that win and we’ll see what we can do.  I’m excited for it,” Spencer said.

Spencer broke the single-season three-point record, hitting on his 71st three-pointer in a season as the Olympian senior finished with 16 points.  Nate Tesfu also scored 16 points for Sprague.  Dominic Hughes contributed ten points in the defeat for North Salem.

Photos By Jeremy McDonald