Early this month I wrote about McKay High School and their obstacles. The type of kids that attend the school and the resilience that many acclaim is inspiring. I had the honor of traveling to Medford, Oregon, with my wife to watch the Abby's Holiday Classic -- an annual tournament that's held every year for eight teams. Thank God the weather was cooperating and we didn't run into any snow or ice during this four-hour drive.
A few parents made the long drive and were not disappointed with the outcome. Thank you to those parents -- you know who you are. I'm pretty sure we all had an exciting time watching these remarkable and athletic kids play the game of basketball.
On Tuesday December 27, 2016, the McKay Royal Scots loaded up the small Salem/Keizer van and headed to Medford, Oregon. Thanks to Coach Noza for driving the boys there and back safely. I'm not making excuses but when our team has a 4 -1 record with a recent defeat of a highly-ranked West Salem team in a GVC Conference game, well, maybe the boys were just a little over confident. With a long Christmas break due to bad weather and only having one practice before tip off against a hostile home-team crowd, we were hoping for the best.
Yes, McKay's first game was against the host team of that tournament. The entire gym rooting for North Medford, and maybe seven parents rooting for McKay. Playing a game after a long drive can be a strong challenge, especially against a powerful Medford team. Despite all of that the boys played hard and did bounce back a little from a poor first quarter, just not enough. I don't want to take anything away from North Medford because they did outshoot us and they were more prepared to play than we were. So McKay loses the first game by nineteen points. This definitely woke them up.
The following day, Ashland, Oregon was waiting for us -- another local team. This time the boys had some rest from the long trip and were able to collect themselves. Coaches Dean Sanderson and Matt Espinoza were strategizing to stay in this tournament for a trophy. During the warm-up drills, David Kovalenko stepped on Drioji Joel's foot and sprained his ankle severely -- luckily the X-rays showed no break -- thank God. The Royal Scots were now without a good shooter and shot blocker. The game was close and leads were exchanged throughout, but in the second half, McKay took over. The press, the three-point shots, the fast break opportunities that McKay capitalized on because of their speed and quickness, was too much for the Ashland Grizzlies. One of the highlights of the game was a monster dunk, by our tallest player, #22 Jordan Sampson. The McKay Royal Scots defeated Ashland, 99 - 87, and advanced to the next day's fourth-place trophy game against a talented Reynolds High School team.
That evening Abby's provided free pizzas for our entire team, Thank you Abby's Pizza for sponsoring this tournament and providing pizza for our team. Abby's Pizza does this every year for the eight teams that play in the tournament. This year it was McKay; North Medford; South Medford; Oregon City; Ashland; Reynolds; Roseburg; and Forest Grove.
Thursday at 1:45pm, #31 Ryan Bangs, jumps the ball against a Reynolds player to get the game started. This was one of the most exciting games I've watched in a while. Yes, of course, the Oregon - UCLA game the night before was electrifying too! McKay and Reynolds are two fast-break-running teams that were so fun to watch. Reynolds was shooting the ball at a very high percentage and McKay was struggling just keeping up. Trailing in the first half the Scots never gave up, and their full-court press created roughly 5 consecutive steals, if not more, to take the lead. But Reynolds hung in there when McKay hit a cold streak of shooting in the early fourth quarter -- nothing was going in. Reynolds' excellent shooting climbed them back to tie the game, 99 - 99 ... with only three seconds left in the fourth quarter -- wow! It was McKay's ball and #14 Andre Tavor had the green light with a look at the fifteen-foot jumper. The ball bounced out of the rim! Hayden Hull jumps up very high, I mean this kid can get up there, and he matches the Reynolds' player. Unfortunately, the referee called a foul on Hayden with .03 seconds left. We all just took a swallow.
Reynolds had not missed a free shot in the last eight visits to the stripe. McKay had ten team fouls, the opponent would get two free throws. Head Coach Dean Sanderson calls time out right before the free throws to make this kid think about it more. The entire gym was quiet, then a few people started yelling, "Miss it ... miss it!" The first shot rattled in and out of the rim. I knew it was going to be tough for this kid to make the next one -- the pressure. The second shot went up and bounced out of the rim again, while both teams scrambled for the rebound the time expired and the game went into overtime!
The McKay boys went on a shooting exhibition during the overtime, everything was clicking like an automatic transmission. Castillo was hitting threes -- nothing but twine, Khyler was hitting free shots and threes, Andre was hitting free throws, Israel was driving and finishing lay ups. Shaton Daniels was running the floor at lightning-speed like there was no tomorrow. Everyone was contributing. The final score was McKay 115, Reynolds 102. McKay had six players in double figures, Shaton Daniels, Josiah Castillo, Andre Tovar, Khyler Beach, Isreal Garza, and Hayden Hull. Everyone on the rotation scored and contributed. This is one reason why I feel McKay has a legit shot to play in post season this year. They play with a lot of heart, they play as a team, and they don't give up. Their winning record is now at 8 wins and 2 losses.
Abby's Pizza, the tournament sponsor, called the McKay/Reynolds game the highlight of the tournament. I have to agree with them. It's not often you see both high-school teams score over one hundred points in one game.
I'm inviting everyone in NE Salem to come out and watch McKay Basketball, you won't be disappointed. This Saturday Dec. 31 at 3:00 p.m. they play Crescent Valley. This team is #8 in the state in Class 5A. Please ask a friend to come watch with you. Let's try to pack the gym. This is fun and exciting, and a great community event. Thank you and hope to see you at all of the games. Go Scots!