After four games of stumbling through their offensive sets with mixed results, the Timberline Blazers took a big step toward turning things in the right direction Wednesday.
Junior forward Donaven Dorsey poured in a game-high 27 points — including 16-of-19 shooting from the free-throw line — and the Blazers used a fourth-quarter explosion to pick up their first league win of the season, a 68-57 decision on the road over Wilson in the Narrows League 3A.
“This is the first time where we actually had a game where we knew what we were doing,” Timberline coach Allen Thomas said. “We were executing our stuff, guys were getting to their spots, and we held (defensive) pressure. We took a punch early, but the guys stayed steady, and I think we confused them with some of the defensive things we brought tonight.”
Nursing a 45-43 lead after three quarters, Timberline (2-3 overall, 1-2 Narrows 3A) opened the fourth quarter on a 12-2 run. Chase Ryan and Brandon Brown hit back-to-back 3-pointers, and Dorsey added a pair of free throws and a 3-pointer to push the lead to 57-45 with 4 minutes, 33 seconds to go.
“It was just us coming together and saying, ‘We’re not going to lose this game,’ ” said Dorsey, who also had nine rebounds and three steals.
When the dust settled, Timberline had outscored Wilson in the fourth quarter, 23-14, breaking open a close game.
“A lot of it is (about) our fundamentals,” Wilson assistant coach Dave Alwert Sr. said. “We’re young and it shows up when we get into games like that. (We’re) talented, but we have a long way to go fundamentally.”
Wilson struggled shooting the ball from the outside and had trouble with Timberline’s size inside. The young Rams also sent the Blazers to the free-throw line, where Timberline made 25 38 attempts.
“We told them, ‘Don’t put Dorsey on the line because he doesn’t miss,’ ” Alwert Sr. said. “We put Dorsey on the line and what happens? He doesn’t miss.”
The Blazers also got strong performances from Brandell Evans (14 points) and Ryan, who scored nine.
“We’ve been a little shaky lately and (haven’t been) getting into our offense,” Dorsey said. “But now we’re just getting through it.”
The win marked the first time in school history that Timberline has beaten Wilson on its home floor, Thomas said.
“We trusted teammates, finally,” he said. “It took us five games to do it, but we finally got the results we were looking for.”
Wilson (4-2, 1-2), which got 13-of-28 shooting from the line, was led by Sam McMahon’s 14 points.
GIRLS
Wilson 75, at Timberline 33: Bethany Montgomery scored a game-high 16 points, Carsen Stanley chipped in 14 and the third-ranked Rams (5-0 overall, 3-0 Narrows 3A) cruised past the Blazers (2-4, 2-1).
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