FOREST GROVE, OR – The Henley Hornets (17-6) battled hard and defeated Baker (22-5) 77-61 in the 4A Quarterfinals at Joe Moran Court.
The Hornets and Bulldogs traded blows through the first half as the squads swapped leads eight times in the first 16 minutes of play. As halftime arrived the Hornets trailed by a score of 37-35. Then the Henley defense went on lockdown holding the top offense in the state to 24% from the field and 23% from beyond the arc in the second half. While the Baker offense became stagnant, Henley’s kicked it up a gear drilling 68% of their shots in the third and fourth quarters en route to out-scoring the Bulldogs 42-24 in the second half.
Junior Markus McCreadie led the Hornets in scoring as he notched 29 points on 12 of 13 shooting. He also collected six rebounds and a block in the win.
“He brings a lot,” said head coach Luke Hammond. “It is just phenomenal for him to do that at this age especially after being hurt earlier in the season. But he stuck with everything and I am super happy for him.”
Blayne Boersma chipped in 17 points for Henley and Aiden Hayes added 10 points with five assists in the winning effort. Baker was led in scoring by sophomore guard Isaiah Jones who finished with 20 points.
The Hornets will play #1 Philomath in the semifinals on Friday evening at 6:30p.
“They beat us by over 30 in early December but I know we are a different team now and so are they,” said Hammond. “It’s another opportunity for these guys to show everyone that Henley is for real.”