Mason Green-Richards and South Eugene pulled off a great showing in Wyoming to get on track.
File photo by Brian Murphy
When the
South Eugene boys basketball team started the season 2-5, there was no sense of panic or concern.
The Axemen just went to work.
Eli Lininger, South Eugene
File photo by Brian Murphy
Led by the state’s No. 2 scorer
Eli Lininger, South Eugene won three straight games last week at the Energy Classic in Gillette, Wyo., against teams from three different states with wins over Bismark (N.D.) 54-35, Puyallup (Wash.) 77-48 and Campbell County (Gillette, Wyo.) 79-73.
"The Energy Classic was very good for us in many
ways. First of all, we improved our defensive effort and actually
started to make some stops and score out of those stops," said coach Dave Hancock. "Secondly, our
roles became much clearer, including our starting lineup.
"What has been the most pleasing aspect of this season is watching our
team grow and mature. We have played very good competition in the
preseason, and have had to learn some hard lessons, but we feel we are
turning a corner right now in a good direction."
For their perseverance and ability to defeat teams from out of state, South Eugene has been selected as the MaxPreps Oregon Team of the Week, presented by the Oregon National Guard.
Lininger, a 6-foot-6 senior, is averaging 22.3 points, 14.2 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game, but he isn’t nearly a one-man team.
Sean O'Neil, South Eugene
File photo by Brian Murphy
, a 6-foot senior, is averaging 14.5 points, 4.1 assists and 1.9 steals per game, while
Sean O'Neil, a 6-6 senior, averages 13.3 points and 4.9 rebounds per game.
"Eli is a tremendous rebounder and student of the game. He is a very smart player that is learning how to make his teammates better in
every practice and every game. Eli is also a great competitor," Hancock said.
During their 2-5 start, the Axemen didn’t play poorly. They played a rigorous schedule that included a 64-56 loss to Lincoln and 77-71 defeat to Lake Oswego.
Other than 2005-06 (24-4) and 2009-10 (21-8), South Eugene has been around the .500 mark, but this team figures to improve greatly upon that.
"Right now, our goal is to win our conference championship. We play
in the Southwest Conference and there are several teams that are
currently ranked ahead of us in the state rankings," Hancock said. "We feel that in
order to be a contender in the state tournament, you first have to be a conference champion, and that is our No. 1 priority at this stage
of the season."
