Saxons Prove More Fierce Than Bears

Ferris beat Central Valley at the Bears’ home court on Friday for its third straight win.
by Ryan Minnerly

Friday’s win was a vital victory for the Saxons of Ferris High School. Their triumph over the home team Bears was their third success in a row, beating Kamloops in a nonleague match up a few weeks ago, followed by Mead and now Central Valley last week. The Saxons dismantled C.V. with a final score of 63-50, though the contest was not always that close. Ferris was again led in scoring by sophomore Chris Wilson, who dropped 17 points for the Scarlet and Silver. In a game of ups and downs, Wilson’s performance was again essential in the outcome of the game.

Central Valley got off to a red-hot start, with many thanks to Scott Simon. In their first few offensive possessions, C.V. was able to nail 3 three-pointers and another two-point bucket to score 11 points right off the bat. Ferris was in a hole early, but was able to battle back. By the end of the first quarter of play, the score was all knotted up at 14-14. Another quarter of play left C.V. on top by three. The score at halftime was 26-29, favoring the home team Bears. However, a frustrated Ferris team came out in the second half and changed the game up. The visiting team stunned C.V. in the third quarter. The Scarlet and Silver went on an offensive tear, scoring many unanswered points. By the end of the third quarter, Ferris was just one point shy of scoring the amount of points that they had scored in the entire first half. And not only did they own the court offensively, but on the defensive end of the court Ferris allowed just 6 third-quarter points from the Bears. The Saxons outscored C.V. 25-6 in the third period, which ended up being the difference of the game. This third period burst was aided much by 9 points from Saxon scoring leader Chris Wilson, as well as by a pair of long-range threes by junior Grant Livingston.

The fourth quarter was won by the home team. The Bears outscored Ferris by a total of 15-12, but could not erase the deficit that their opponents had created for them. The Saxons had a lead of up to 19 points at one time in the game. Aside from Wilson, the Bears were feeling pressure from senior Connor Halliday who put up 15 of his own points, as well as Livingston, who, with his pair of beyond-the-arc shots, scored a total of 11 points. Central Valley had three players of in double digit scoring as well, one player with a point total of 15 (Simon) and two players with 10. In all, the Bears truly lived and died from beyond the three point line. They hit a total of 9 three-point buckets as a team, four coming from Scott Simon, yet came up short in the end anyway. Perhaps one of the biggest difference makers in Friday’s game at C.V. was the battle of the boards. Ferris out-rebounded the Bears by 18, with a total count of 43-25. The Saxons’ Jason Bates and Taylor Kamitomo each brought in 10 of their own rebounds. Bates also put up 8 points and Kamitomo had 6 of his own. In the end, the massive rebounding advantage and a third quarter streak by the visiting Saxons made the difference in the game.

With this win, Ferris now maintains a record of 3-2 in league, and 5-5 overall. They look forward to their next opponent, East Valley. The Knights are 1-3 in the GSL, but are a measly 2-8 overall. The Saxons will travel to East Valley on Tuesday at 5:30 to square off with the Knights. Good luck boys!