Mixed results on 2019 Boys Hoops Campaign

"I know our boys are disappointed that we didn’t make one of the playoff spots," said Falcon's head basketball coach Nick Garman in and email.  "But I’m not disappointed in them at all."  Garman's enthusiasm on a 9-13 (3-7 in the 4A Sky-Em conference) was based on the Falcons previous year.  

"We were 0-10 in league the year before and we really only returned three kids off that team," Garman explained.  "So we started over in a way and finished 9-13 overall, a pretty dramatic improvement."

Starting Falcons' center, 6-7 Jacob Marr towers above Junction City opponents for a rebound in Elmira's game against the Tigers Tuesday, February 5 at Elmira High School.  Photo by Michelle Ossowski.

The 2019-20 version of the Falcons will move on without starting point guard Paul Ossowski, and loose some length with the graduations of Keegan Cook and Jaden Palmer.  Also moving on will be sixth man  Riley Chambers.

There is evidence that the progress made this season will not be a one season aberration.  Starters Christian Davis and Jacob Marr return this year.  Davis showed flashes of devastating offense but also had periods where his shot abandoned him.  Defensively he is long and aggressive.  Marr will be a junior and with a year of being a starter in the rugged Sky-Em conference, he will be ready to up his game which at times seemed unstoppable.  However, the 6-7 sophomore needed work defensively and sometimes struggled against offensively versatile centers.

Junior wing Christian Davis scores against two defenders in the Falcons' victory over the Vikings, Tuesday February 12.
Photo by Michelle Ossowski

Others playing a key role next year will be Gannon Harpole, 6-5 Cobyn Herbert, Mason Smart and Keaton Warner, as well as JV players Jacob Admire and Josiah Hernandez.

6-5 sophomore Cobyn Herbert battles two Siuslaw defenders for a rebound in the Falcons' 23 point blow out Tuesday February 12. Photo by Michelle Ossowski

The real revelation of the season was the ascension of Bryson Forsman during the last third of the season.  Not big or long, Forsman nonetheless became a vital scoring weapon for the Falcons down the stretch including a 25 point outburst in a victory against Junction City.  It will be interesting to see how coach Garman utilizes him next year.  Forsman's real contribution was an almost frenetic and fearless energy.  Smaller than most front liners, Forsman would courageously take forays into the paint, attacking the opponent's rim.  He also has a competent outside game to complement his aggression and, despite his size, he is a frustrating defender. 

Bryson Forsman shoots a three pointer off a screen by Riley Chambers in Elmira's big win over Siuslaw, Tuesday, February 12 at Elmira High School.  

"It probably seemed like Bryson did come out of nowhere," Garman commented.  "But that was mainly due to a lingering illness that kept him out of most of the first two weeks of the season. He then had to play catch-up in a couple of ways. One, he had to get in basketball shape and was two weeks behind in some ways and two, he had to learn our system and style of play as a transfer kid. He is an excellent penetrator, a decent three-point shooter and an above average pull-up jump shooter. He improved a lot defensively and is an excellent rebounder, especially for his size. He is a pretty tenacious kid. 

All this portends an even more successful season for Elmira Hoops in 2020.

Falcon Boys Make a Statement Against Siuslaw

At 5-13, no one is going to mistake the Siuslaw Vikings with the Golden State Warriors.  However, it was important for the Elmira Falcons basketball team to show that their resurrection from an 0-5 start wasn't a fluke and that with the second half of the conference schedule on tap, they still could find themselves in the upper tier of the 4A Sky-Em Conference.  The Falcons took a step in that direction by eventually dismantling hapless Siuslaw 70-44 at Elmira High School, Tuesday, January 22.

Elmira guard Bryson Forsman goes up to dunk on a breakway as the Falcons overwhelmed Siuslaw 70-44, Tuesday, January 22 at Elmira High School.  Photo by Kimberly Lillie.

On first glance of the statistics, Elmira's poor shooting under 40% would be a cause for concern.  However, the new strategy was clear: bombs away.  The Falcons chucked up a season high 66 shots, converting 26 of them.  Three players scored in double figures for the Falcons.  Jacob Marr who only scored 5 points in the first half, rebounded to finish with 16.

Christian Davis fires up a 12 foot jumper... one of his 14 shots on the night... in Elmira's 70-44 victory over Siuslaw, Tuesday, January 22 at Elmira High School.  Photo by Kimberly Lillie.

Keagan Cook and Christian Davis were the primary bombardiers though, firing up 27 shots between them and scoring 14 and 11 respectively.  Paul Ossowski chipped in 7 points and got to the line twice. 

6-6 Jacob Marr posts up for two of his 16 points in the Falcons 70-44 victory over Siuslaw, Tuesday January 22 at Elmira High School.  Photo by Kimberly Lillie.

The victory left the Falcons 7-9 (1-3 in conference play) going into a Friday night tilt on the road against 4th ranked Marshfield.  It is the first of three games on the road, including a non conference tilt with Crow, before starting the second half of the conference schedule.  A victory over the Pirates in Coos Bay would be a staggering, but not unrealistic, expectation for Head Coach Nick Garman's team.  Considering their start, and the quality of their improvement since the beginning of the year, the story is still yet to be written. 

Newport Launches Aerial Bombardment to Flummox Falcons

Still looking for their first victory, the Falcons boys basketball team can look back on significant offensive improvement, scoring a season high in points led by 6-6 sophomore Jacob Marr, who finished with a double/double.  However, Newport came out with all guns firing throughout the entire game and when the smoke cleared, Elmira was left with their third loss of the season as the Cubs bombed Elmira 66-48 Friday December 14 at Elmira High School,  in a game that wasn't as close as the score indicated.  

Trailing by 20 or more virtually the entire first half, it seemed that the Falcons had solved the scoring dilemma they were experiencing and started to fee Marr who exploded in the third quarter on 7 of 11 shooting all from close range.  He also added 10 rebounds to go with his team high 14 points.  Keegan Cook added 12.  

"Jacob is coming along well," noted Falcon head basketball coach Nick Garman in an email, "and was aided by some strong guard penetration by our outside guys who dished off some nice passes to Jake."

However, despite scoring a season high 22 point quarter in the third, Elmira actually lost ground to the Cubs, as Newport continued to rain threes as they did in the first half.  Newport launched 30 three point shots hitting on 13.  Five different players hit two threes apiece.  The Cubs were led by Justin Plechaty who scored at will both inside and outside the arc, finishing with 22 points.  

"They did surprise us with the number of different players that were firing up threes and hitting," lamented Garman, who was issued his first bench warning of the season in protesting a couple of non-calls on the offensive end for Elmira.

The journey does not get easier as Sweet Home brings a sterling 7-1 record to Elmira High School on Tuesday December 18.  

Philomath Takes the Falcons to School

"I want to see if they have a fire in their bellies," said boys basketball head coach Nick Garman, shortly before tip off of their game with Philomath.  He was hoping that the Falcons would rebound from the lackluster loss in the opener to Sisters.  Instead, he watched his Elmira squad come out timidly, fall behind 40-23 by the end of the third quarter, before starting to assert themselves far too late, as the Warriors waxed Elmira 55-38 at Philomath High School, Tuesday December 11.

"I would like to see us take the fight to our opponents sooner rather than later," lamented Garman in an email.  "I would like to see our practice attitude change if we want to see a different result on the floor."  Garman suggested that the two subsequent practices since the Philomath game were improved.

Falcons' sophomore center Jacob Marr attacks the rim and is fouled by a Philomath defender in Elmira's 55-38 loss to the Warriors, Tuesday December 11.  Photo by Kimberly Lillie.

Already with a disadvantage because of Philomath's length and size, the Falcons complicated things by offering their opponents 21 turnovers and frigid 12 for 44, 27% shooting.  By the time, Elmira was starting to see some progress in the final stanza, the lead was too great to overcome.

Elmira's Keaton Warner challenges a Philomath shooter in the Falcons 55-38 loss to the Warriors, Tuesday December 11.
Photo by Kimberly Lillie

Still, Garman found silver linings in the loss.  The Falcons out-rebounded the bigger, taller Philomath squad 31-26 and hit 13 of 17 free throws once they started to be more aggressive in taking the ball to the rack.  Keegan Cook led Elmira in scoring with 10 points.

Elmira's Keegan Cook drives to the basket in the fourth quarter of the Falcons 55-38 loss to Philomath, Tuesday,
 December 11.  Keegan led the Falcons in scoring with 10 points.  Photo by Kimberly Lillie.

"They battled until the end," Garman commented.  "which is nice to see the character we have.  I do think we can play much better than we did, for sure."

The Falcons welcome the Newport Cubs this Friday night at 7 PM.