For the second time this season, Henley (6-2) boys basketball struggled on the road against a 5A opponent, losing 58-45 to Caldera (3-4) in a game they never led.
The Wolfpack jumped ahead 10-2 in the first 2:46 of the game and were on top 22-9 at the end of the first quarter. They extended their lead to 27-11 with 4:54 to go in the half, but the Hornets outscored them 8-2 the rest of the way to cut it to 29-19 at the break.
Henley made another surge to draw within 30-25 with 5:55 left in the third quarter, but Caldera used its size and athleticism (all five of the Wolfpack’s starters stood at least 6-foot-1 with two of them standing at least 6-foot-6) to wear the Hornets down physically and sap their momentum. Henley trailed 41-32 entering the fourth quarter and cut the Wolfpack’s lead to 41-34 with 7:33 remaining before running out of gas.
Despite having to contend with two defenders his size in the paint, Markus McCreadie finished with a game-high 25 points while adding 11 rebounds and 3 blocks. Other contributors for Henley were Luke Bennett with 9 points and 3 rebounds; Chris Janney with 4 points and 3 rebounds; Micah Ibarra with 3 points; Aiden Hayes with 2 points and 5 assists; Owen Harper with 2 points and 6 rebounds; and Bryson Montag with 4 rebounds.
For Caldera, Miles Macomber had 20 points (including 9 in the first quarter), Jack Bents (Prep Hoops’ No. 38 junior in Oregon) had 17, Will Jenson (Prep Hoops’ No. 33 junior in Oregon) had 11, Griffin Sanchez had 6, and Aiden Cruz and Seb Fievet each had 2.
The Hornets return to action after Christmas at Sisters High School, where they’ll compete in the Sisters Shootout. They’ll face Madras at 5 p.m. Dec. 28 to kick off a three-game weekend.
