Wilsonville vs. Putnam, a top-ten matchup that many looked forward to. As fans and students of Putnam and Wilsonville sprinkled in, everyone was eager to watch this Wildcat vs. Kingsmen matchup.
Putnam, returning five guard-like players, was going to present a challenge for the Wildcats. “We worked a lot on matching up with their speed which was going to be challenging for a team as big as us,” said Head Coach Chris Roche. “We didn’t have many days to practice so we got our game plan and had about one full practice to work on it,” said senior Nick Colyer. “We have played these guys before so we knew their team and their tendencies,” added Colyer.
Wilsonville sprung the early lead in the first quarter, up 17-4 against the Kingsmen going into the second quarter. The Wildcats appeared to be unstoppable, playing good defense, getting clean blocks, and draining tough shots. Senior duo Kyle Counts and Kallen Gutridge lead the scoring for the Wildcats, scoring from any position on the floor.
After a back-and-forth second quarter, the Kingsmen squad looked more hopeful, connecting on more of their shots and playing better defense. Putnam went into halftime trailing 22-16.
Shortly into the third quarter, Putnam came out of nowhere to tie the game up 22-22. The Wildcats began picking up questionable fouls, uncharacteristic turnovers, and violations like the ten-second half-court violation. These miscues immediately boosted some momentum for the Kingsmen.
Wilsonville clawed their way back into the lead, but not by much. The Wildcats were up 36-35 going into the fourth quarter. Nerves set in for what was about to be a whirlwind of a fourth quarter.
About 30 seconds into the fourth quarter, Wilsonville was able to build onto their lead after a technical foul by senior guard Chase McDonald for the Kingsmen. Gutridge was able to hit both free throws to increase the score to 38-35.
Not to be outshined, Putnam quickly evened the score at 40 apiece, then quickly to 42 apiece. For the first time in the game, Putnam took the lead after a three pointer to make the score 45-44 with four minutes left in the quarter.
After a hectic, back-and-forth four minutes, Wilsonville fouled senior Lennon Greenleaf from Putnam on a drive with less than two seconds left in the quarter. With Wilsonville up 54-53, Greenleaf could sink both free throws to win the game. Fortunately for Wilsonville, Greenleaf missed the first free throw but was able to tie it up at 54 to go into overtime. “I could feel my heart coming out of my chest watching them go into overtime,” said avid Wildcat supporter Calvin Lay.
As soon as the clock started, a switch flipped for the Wildcats and they began knocking down clutch shots and capitalizing off of Putnam fouls to take the lead. “We know we had to get better at certain things like handling pressure,” said Colyer, who collected multiple buckets on the night.
The Wildcats went on to win the game 63-59 in an overtime thriller. Counts and Gutridge combined for 47 of the 63 points, Gutridge tallying 26 and Counts tallying 21. “I was pleased with tonight. We were really behind the 8 ball a couple of different times, they (Putnam) are a good team and are going to win a lot of games but we found a way tonight. It was a great win for us,” said Roche. “We were able to be resilient through tough times in the game,” added Colyer.
“This was my first high school basketball game in at least ten years and I am glad I got to come out and support the Cats and watch this thriller of a game,” said Lay.