COTTAGE GROVE, Ore. — An excellent defensive performance put on display by the Junction City Tigers (16–7, 7–3 4A), complemented by 17 points from senior guard Carter Franks, lifted them to a 60-22 road win over the Cottage Grove Lions (5–17, 3–7 4A) on Tuesday Night.
The Tigers' tenacious defense only allowed seven first-half points, enabling the offense to secure an early lead that Junction City never looked back on.
“Our defense started the whole thing, and we contained them,” Junction City head coach Bart Rothenberger said. “We didn’t exactly play well offensively in there, but we got enough.”
Senior guard Adam McNamar added 12 points to the Tigers’ total, and senior forward Kaden Schafer had eight more of his own. The performances helped them turn their success from last weekend into a two-game win streak with tonight’s result.
Junior forward Casey Pickle led Cottage Grove in scoring with six points, but with no response on the defensive end, the Lions dropped their third consecutive game.
“It’s tough, it’s a good team that we played against tonight,” Cottage Grove head coach Seth Hutchinson said. “They’re senior-led, they have eight seniors, that’s just mental toughness that they’re going to have, and they came ready to play.”
The Tigers return home for the first time since Jan. 30 and face off against the Marist Catholic Spartans (14–5), whom they squeaked out a three-point win against in the first game of their four-game road-trip 65–62.
“There’s no adjustment against Marist,” Rothenberger said. “It’s always going to be a one-two-three point game with Marist. It’s a war, Junction and Marist. They play very good defense, and they’re really athletic. We’re just going to have to maintain. Coming down with the ball for the last two minutes is going to be really key.”
The Lions play their final home game of the 2025-2026 season against the North Bend Bulldogs (5–17), whom they look to complete a season sweep against after beating them twice already this season. It will also be the final time suiting up at home for five seniors.
“It’s going to come down to what we’ve always been talking about. Effort, energy, and attitude are what you're going to be a good teammate. All of those things play into it,” Hutchison said. “North Bend’s improving, it’s not going to be an easy one, and everything in the past doesn’t really mean anything. We got to come out, and we got to compete because that North Bend team had Junction City in a tight game last week.”
What’s Next:
Junction City: vs. Marist Catholic Friday 2/20
Cottage Grove: vs. North Bend Thursday 2/19