COOS BAY -- Here we go again.

Horizon Christian took the lead with a trio of 3-pointers in the second quarter and held on for a 57-48 win over Santiam Christian on Friday night, setting up a championship game against Dayton for the third year in a row.

It's the fifth straight year the Hawks have reached the championship game and they won the past two over the Pirates.

'I wouldn't want to play anybody else," said Horizon Christian's Michael Loomis. 'Both teams want each other."

He predicted the fans at Pirate Palace would get their money's worth in the championship game tonight, scheduled to tip off at 8:30 p.m.

'It will be entertaining," he said. 'It will be hard-nosed basketball."

Santiam Christian came up just short of a trip to the final, and coach Anthony Baugher said Horizon Christian's experience helped the Hawks.

'I'm very proud of the boys," he said. 'I can't take anything away from (coach) Dave (Brown) and Horizon. They've been here a lot before. This is our first time at this level."

The Hawks used balanced scoring and tough free throw shooting to hold off the Eagles.

Loomis and Cameron Egger scored 15 points each and Calvin Anderson added 13.

Horizon Christian also made 12 of its first 14 free throws and finished 19-for-26 from the line, making Santiam Christian's effort to foul for profit at the end of the game worthless.

Santiam Christian again relied on the long ball to get its offense going.

After a slow start, the Eagles' first five baskets all were 3-pointers -- by Jeff Hendrix, Tyler Ropp (twice), Micah Ropp and Grant Schroeder. When Hendrix scored on a three-point play, the Eagles led 18-16 in the second quarter.

But Horizon Christian surged back in front with consecutive 3-pointers by Egger, Loomis and Anderson and led 32-24 at halftime.

The Hawks didn't score for nearly 4 minutes to start the third quarter, but the Eagles didn't make up much ground -- their only points during the same stretch came on a three-point play by Hendrix, and Horizon Christian carried a 38-31 lead into the fourth.

The Hawks led by as many as 13 in the final quarter and Santiam Christian ran out of time for a comeback.

The loss meant a game tonight at North Bend High School against Portland Adventist, which lost to Dayton in the other semifinal. Because the Cougars can't play before sundown for religious reasons, the game will be played at 7 p.m.

Hendrix led the Eagles with 14 points and Tyler Ropp added 10. Micah Ropp hit three of Santiam Christian's eight 3-pointers and finished with nine points.

COOS BAY — When you play the two-time defending state champions, everything has to go right to win.

It didn't for the Eagles.

Santiam Christian High School's boys basketball team went on cold streaks offensively and couldn't recover Friday in a 57-48 loss to two-time defending state champion Horizon Christian in the semifinals of the OSAA Class 3A state semifinals at Marshfield High School.

"You can't take anything away from (Coach Dave Brown) and Horizon," Santiam Christian coach Anthony Baugher said. "They've been here a lot before. This is the first time we've been here with this group in the semifinals."

The Santiam Christian boys advanced to the 3A semifinals in Coos Bay on Thursday with a 48-39 victory over Cascade Christian.

Micah Robb led the Eagles with 12 points and Jeff Hendrix had 11.

SCHS opened up with a 19-9 lead in the first quarter.

The Eagles move on to face Horizon Christian Friday at 8:15 in the semis.

Santiam Christian rode hot outside shooting to an early lead and held on to top Cascade Christian 48-39 in the opening round of the 3A boys state tournament on Thursday at Marshfield High.

The Eagles hit their first four 3-pointers and led 11-0 before Cascade Christian got on the scoreboard.

The Challengers chipped away at the lead, coming as close as four downs twice in the fourth quarter before SC prevailed.

Jeff Hendrix and Travis Waite hit 3-pointers on SC’s first two possessions and then Hendrix was fouled on another trey and hit two of the three free throws. When Micah Ropp hit another shot from behind the arc, the Eagles led 11-0.

“We played as a team real well today,” said Ropp, who hit his first four 3-pointers — all in the first half — and finished with 12 points.

SC made eight 3-pointers as a team, though the Eagles cooled off after the hot start some, finishing 8 for 18 from behind the arc.

The Santiam Christian boys basketball team was in control from start to finish as the Eagles defeated visiting Chemawa, 61-52, on senior night.

With the victory, SC claims the PacWest Conference crown with a 16-2 league record.

Blanchet entered play Monday at 15-2, but the Eagles hold the tiebreaker.

"It was special for our nine seniors to get a win on senior night," said SC coach Anthony Baugher.

SC's Jared Kuenzi led all scorers with 18 points.

Santiam Christian will host Blanchet in a league playoff game on Saturday.

Santiam Christian 61, Chemawa 52

Chemawa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 12 12 19 - 52

Santiam Christian . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 20 15 11 - 61

Chemawa: Lowley 10, Garcia 10, Shields 12, Helms 14, Boatwright 6, Bixby, Cruise, Boneito.

Santiam Christian: Jared Kuenzi 18, Hendrix 16, Schroeder 9, Wonsley 6, Risinger 5, Ropp 5, Waite 2, Hovelsrud, Wyatt, Faddis.

The Santiam Christian boys basketball team made an adjustment to its full-court press midway through the fourth quarter that keyed their 45-42 road victory over Creswell in a PacWest conference contest.

"It was a good win to hold them to five points in the fourth quarter and scoreless in the last five and a half minutes," said SC coach Anthony Baugher.

Jeff Hendrix led the Eagles with 14 points.

Santiam Christian (18-4, 14-2) plays at Jefferson on Saturday.

Santiam Christian 45 Creswell 42

Santiam Christian . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 11 6 15 - 45

Creswell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 14 13 5 - 42

Santiam Christian: Jeff Hendrix 14, Schroeder 13, Kuezni 9, Waite 5, Wonsley 4, Hovelsrud, Faddis, Ropp.

Creswell: Tomar 10, Pruitt 8, Foster 7, Willamson 6, McFadden 6, Jones 3, Teal 2, England.

Santiam Christian 60, Toledo 28

TOLEDO — Santiam Christian led 32-16 at halftime and cruised to a road victory in PacWest conference play.

The Eagles’ Jared Kuenzi led all scorers with 19 points.

Santiam Christian (17-4 13-2) plays at Creswell on Thursday.

Santiam Christian 60, Toledo 28

SANTIAM CHRISTIAN 19 13 20 8 — 60

TOLEDO 7 9 7 5 – 28

Santiam Christian: Jared Kuezni 19, Wonsley 11, Schroeder 10, Hovelsrud 4, Hendrix 4, Faddis 4, Ropp 3, Waite 3, Wyatt 1, Hufanga 1 

Toledo: Young 13, Willamson 6, Eherman 2, Edwards 3, J. Cross 2, Turner 2, C. Cross, Shirman, Ammon, Brant

Harrisburg likes to work the ball, leading to long offensive possessions and causing the defense to play with some extra patience.

Santiam Christian was up to the task Monday, controlling the game for three quarters then holding on for a 41-32 PacWest Conference boys basketball home win.

"They limit your offensive touches and they force you to play good defense," said Santiam Christian guard Jeff Hendrix, who had a game-high 16 points, including three 3-pointers. "Today we made the most of the touches we had. I think that's how we got out with a ‘W.'"

Santiam Christian stayed perfect in PacWest play at 10-0 while improving to 14-2 overall. Trent Ruckert had 12 points for Harrisburg (11-7, 6-5), which is trying to stay in the PacWest's top five in order to make the conference playoffs at the end of the regular season.

Grant Schroeder scored 13 points to lead the Santiam Christian boys basketball team to a 54-24 PacWest Conference win Saturday over Jefferson, but it was the defense the made it happen.

"We just came out with a focus on defense," coach Anthony Baugher said. "We wanted to get a lot of guys in to reward guys for their hard work in practice."

The Eagles (12-2, 8-0) play at Waldport next on Friday.

Santiam Christian 54, Jefferson 24

JEFFERSON   5   6   7   6 - 24

SC              12 13 12 17 - 54

Jefferson: Looney 14, Straight 6, Edelman 2, Foster 2, Epps, Sells, Wheeler

Santiam Christian: Schroeder 13, Faddis 9, Risinger 8, Ropp 8, Kuenzi 6, Waite 4, Hendrix 4, Hovelsrud 2, Wyatt, Hufanga

JV: Santiam Christian 63, Jefferson 9

Santiam Christian 77, Toledo 26

Santiam Christian hit its first seven shots from the field to put away visiting Toledo early in a PacWest Conference contest.

"We came out really hot and built that big first quarter lead and sustained it. It was good to see everybody get a lot of minutes," SC coach Anthony Baugher said.

Jeff Hendrix led all players with 20 points.

The Eagles (10-2, 6-0) host Creswell on Thursday in another PacWest matchup.

Santiam Christian 77, Toledo 26

Toledo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 11 3 5 - 26

Santiam Christian . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 15 29 10 - 77

Toledo: Edwards 14, Cross, Shriner 3, Ammons 2, Marthaler 2, Eshlena 1, Turner 4.

Santiam Christian: Jeff Hendrix 20, Risinger 11, Schroeder 10, Hovelsrud 6, Waite 6, Wyatt 2, Faddis 14, Kuenzi 8, Ropp.

SC 61, Salem Academy 33 BOYS

Santiam Christian held Salem Academy to seven first-half points in a convincing road victory.

"Playing on the road, I wanted to make sure that we started with our focus on the defensive end," SC coach Anthony Baugher said.

Jeff Hendrix led the Eagles with 15 points.

SC (9-2, 5-0 PacWest) hosts Toledo on Tuesday.

SC 61, Salem Academy 33

Santiam Christian . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 11 15 25 - 61

Salem Academy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 0 17 9 - 33

Santiam Christian: Jeff Hendrix 15, Risinger 1, Schroeder 14, Hovelsrud 4, Waite 3, Wyatt 2, Faddis 5, Kuenzi 4, Ropp 11, Hufanga 2.

SC 58 Salem Academy 54 GIRLS

Santiam Christian limited its turnovers late and got key defensive stops when they were needed to earn a PacWest Conference road victory against Salem Academy.

"Our defense kept us in the game," SC coach Melissa McLain said. "Every time they made a run, our defense was able to get a stop."

Janelle Land led the Eagles' offense with 22 points.

Santiam Christian (9-3 4-1 PacWest) plays host to Toledo on Tuesday.

Santiam Christian 58 Salem Academy 54

Santiam Christian . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 12 18 14 - 58

Salem Academy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 13 13 17 - 54

Santiam Christian: Janelle Land 22, Whitney 16, Woods 9, Kessi 5, Griner 4, Magnuson 2, Kreger. Totals: 23 12-19 58.

It's early in the basketball season and the play is inconsistent, but the ability to finish games always is crucial.

Grant Schroeder and Micah Ropp drained back-to-back fourth-quarter 3-pointers to put Santiam Christian High School's boys team up for good against host Blanchet on Tuesday, and the Eagles won 43-40.

It wasn't a pretty win, but it puts Santiam Christian alone atop the PacWest Conference.

"We played six different kinds of defense tonight," Santiam Christian coach Anthony Baugher said. "To the average … fan, it might look a little ugly, but for me as a coach, that looked exactly like what we needed to do."

Santiam Christian 59, Pleasant Hill 52

ADAIR VILLAGE - Pleasant Hill took an early 15-3 lead over the Eagles, but Santiam Christian worked its way back into the game.

Jared Kuenzi led the Eagles with 17 points and Jeff Hendrix added 13.

SC coach Anthony Baugher credited seniors Kuenzi and Travis Waite, who scored 12 points, with seeing the squad through the rough stretch.

The Eagles (3-0) play North Valley on Tuesday in the Wells Fargo Advisors Christmas Classic.

Santiam Christian 59, Pleasant Hill 52

PLEASANT HILL         15 14 14 9 - 52

SANTIAM CHRISTIAN 10 14 16 19 - 59

Santiam Christian: Jared Kuenzi 17, Hendrix 13, Waite 12, Schroeder 9, Wonsley 4, Ropp 3, Hufanga 1, Risinger, Hovelsrud, Wyatt, Faddis

Pleasant Hill: Daniel Finfrock 16, P. Smith 2, Ferguson 9, Hayter 3, Bertsch 5, Frity 5, Parmenter 12, R. Smith

Santiam Christian's run to the 3A football state championship had one unintended consequence.

Instead of participating in preseason basketball practice, eight SC athletes were still playing postseason football.

With limited time to practice, the Eagles (2-0, 2-0 PacWest) have been forced to learn on the fly, and Tuesday night's PacWest Conference game at Harrisburg was no exception.

No. 3 SC found itself trailing by six at halftime, but the visiting Eagles were able pull out a 35-33 win behind a pair of Jeff Hendrix free throws with 12 seconds to play. Trent Ruckert's last-second 3-point attempt was just long for upset-minded Harrisburg.

With 20 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter and the score knotted at 33, Nathan Theisfeld intercepted an SC pass near mid-court. Theisfeld rushed the ball to the basket, but was called for traveling after he slipped and fell in the paint.

SC 71, Waldport 35

ADAIR VILLAGE - The Eagles shot 50 percent and built a 61-18 lead through three quarters as they opened PacWest Conference play in their first game of the season.

SC (1-0) was playing for the first time since winning the 3A football title last Saturday.

"Some of our football players looked rusty, but the effort was there," coach Anthony Baugher said. "It was a good game to get a lot of people in. We're trying to work on getting our basketball legs, which is a good problem to have."

Caleb Wonsley had 14 points and Jeff Hendrix added 13 in the win. Travis Waite had eight assists, while Grant Schroeder had nine points and eight rebounds.

SC plays at Harrisburg on Tuesday.

Santiam Christian: Wonsley 14, Hendrix 13, Risinger 5, Schroeder 9, Hovelsrud 2, Brown 1, Waite, Wyatt 6, Faddis 6, Kuenzi 8, Ropp 2, Hufanga, Archer 4

Santiam Christian High had two simple goals heading into Monday's PacWest Conference boys basketball finale: Get a win and stay healthy.

The Eagles accomplished both in a 64-38 road win heading into Wednesday's home PacWest seeding game against Harrisburg. The teams split two regular-season meetings.

Tyler Ropp had a team-high 23 points for SC (18-5, 16-2), which also got 10 points apiece from Amos Boshart and Jefferson transfer Jared Kuenzi.

"We wanted to get a lot of guys in, a lot of minutes," coach Anthony Baugher said....

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Santiam Christian 50, Toledo 35

Santiam Christian's game plan against Toledo focused on defense.

"We went into the game with a plan to lock up their three best players with a pressure defense, which we did," SC coach Anthony Baugher said.

The Eagles (16-5, 14-2) played the possession style their coach wanted, and with 13 points from Jeff Hendrix, defeated Toledo by 15.

Trevor Alexander added 10 points

Santiam Christian hosts Creswell on Friday.

Santiam Christian 50, Toledo 35

TOLEDO 7 4 10 14 - 35

SANTIAM CHRISTIAN 14 10 18 8 - 50

Toledo: Eli Grove 11, Kinion 5, Marchant 5, Estelle 4, Smith 4, Drago 2.

Santiam Christian: Jeff Hendrix 13, Alexander 10, Ropp 8, Stutzman 7, Kessi 4, Boshart 4, Kuenzi 2, Waite 2, Hufanga

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