COOS BAY, Ore. — Freshman guard Max Ainsworth went off for 40 and the Marshfield Pirates (13–7, 6–2 4A) cruised to a 74–40 victory over the Cottage Grove Lions (5–16, 3–6 4A) at Hoffine Court on Friday night.
Twenty-six of Ainsworth’s points came in the first half of action, and the Pirates held a 47–19 stranglehold over the Lions halfway through the contest. They never looked back.
“I think that the team galvanises around it, and one of our mantras is that everybody’s success is everybody’s success,” Marshfield head coach Jesse Ainsworth said. “So if I score, I score. You get a stop, I get a stop. If you get a steal, I get a steal. We talk about five becoming one, and Max [Ainsworth] just had it going early, and he got a hot hand. You know, as a freshman, he’s pretty talented.”
Junior guard/forward Keller Vilyard scored 13 points. Sophomore guard Brett Butler Jr. added eight more. Marshfield has now strung together six consecutive wins.
Sophomore forward Ethan Valdez and sophomore guard Ryan Deloach led Cottage Grove in scoring, each finishing with 11 points in the blowout loss.
“I think lots of things could have gone better,” Cottage Grove head coach Seth Hutchison said. “Our ability to defend, rebounding, and offensive execution could’ve been better.”
Lions’ junior forward Trevor Cooper made his return to the court tonight after missing the last four games with a sprained right ankle. Cooper finished with four in limited action.
“I thought [Trevor Cooper] played hard; he’s battling through that ankle injury,” Hutchison said. “He’s not 100%, you can see that when he’s running down the court. I wish we had helped his head a little better, but it’s nice to have him back out there.”
Cottage Grove was without senior guard Cade May after he suffered a torn ACL in the team’s 58–23 loss at Marist Catholic on Tuesday. The heart and soul of the Lions, Hutchison, made it clear that his absence hurt more than what shows up on the statsheet.
“He’s the heart and soul of our team, a senior captain for us,” Hutchison said. “It hurts not having him on the floor, and you could see that tonight.”
Marshfield wraps up its two-game homestand against Marist Catholic (14–5) on Tuesday. The Pirates are 1–1 against them in the two games they’ve met.
“Well, I’ll enjoy tonight, and that game plan starts Saturday morning, you know what I mean,” Ainsworth said. “But we’re looking forward to it; it’s always a great game against Marist. It’s been super competitive for quite a few years.”
The Lions finish their four-game road trip with a 1–3 record, and they return home to face Junction City (7–15). A physical team that beat them 82–41 in their last matchup.
“It’s going to come down to defensive discipline,” Hutchison said. “Are we going to be able to stay in front of them? Are we going to be able to close out? Are we going to limit them to one shot? There are a lot of things we’re going to have to improve on quickly.”
What’s Next
Cottage Grove: vs. Junction City Tuesday 2/17
Marshfield: vs. Marist Catholic Tuesday 2/17