Sherwood 70, Century 50: Five Takeaways

<p>The Pacific League wrapped up its first half of conference play on Wednesday night and it was expected that Sherwood and Century would have a spirited battle. Instead, the Bowmen caught fire early and raced out to an early lead they would never relinquish, and behind a dominating performance from junior point guard <strong>Jamison Guerra</strong>, Sherwood cruised to a 70-50 win to remain undefeated in the league standings.</p> <p>Sherwood was simply unstoppable on both sides of the ball, hitting threes and layups while clamping down on defense on the Jaguars. Century was never in the game after falling behind 7-0 and Sherwood led as many as 30 points before clearing the bench in the fourth quarter. Guerra led four Bowmen in double figures with 22 points while <strong>Asher Krauel</strong> added 13, <strong>Tyler Nix</strong> scored 11, and <strong>Blake Jensen</strong> added ten points off the bench. <strong>Chance Sparks</strong> led Century with ten points.  Sherwood remains in first place of the league standings with a 6-0 conference mark and is playing some high-level basketball.</p> <p>"It's hard to explain, we're just shooting the lights out every game," Guerra said. "That's the expectation. We're crashing the boards and we're setting the tone every single game from the get-go."</p> <p><strong>Guerra is an MVP Candidate</strong></p> <p>Of all the games we've seen so far this season, there may have been no more dominating performance from a point guard than what we saw from <strong>Jamison Guerra</strong> on Wednesday. The 5-foot-10 junior was in total control of the game on both ends of the floor. Offensively, he was the unquestioned floor leader, taking what the defense gave him. He was physically able to overpower Century's guards on the way to the basket, where he finished plays either for himself or dishing out to open shooters. When open on the perimeter, he hit a couple of threes. And on defense, he helped lock down on Century's perimeter shooters and parlayed playing the passing lanes into a number of steals. On the night, Guerra finished with 22 points on 10-for-14 shooting, 2-for-4 from the three-point line while dishing out six assists, grabbing four steals, and pulling down four boards. There is no question Guerra is a major candidate for Pacific League Player of the Year.</p> <p><strong>Sherwood Shooting It Well</strong></p> <p>On the night, the Bowmen hit a total of ten threes from five different players. Senior <strong>Tyler Hix</strong> and sophomore <strong>Asher Krauel</strong> led the way with three made each (with Krauel making all three he attempted) while Guerra hit a couple himself. Sherwood fired away from three early and often and when they are hitting from long range, it makes them even more dangerous as it opens up room for Guerra to drive to the basket and Sherwood's big men space to operate down low as defenses start to focus on the shooters.</p> <p><strong>Jensen Continues to Excel</strong></p> <p>When we last saw <strong>Blake Jensen</strong>, the junior big man had set a career high at the Les Schwab Invitational "The Eight" in points. If Wednesday's game was any indication, he continues to grow with his confidence in the interior. Jensen capably got himself into position down low for either the entry pass where he could create in the post, or where he could get the easy dump off for the lay-in. There were a couple of gimmies that he missed but on the night, Jensen finished with 10 points on 5-for-11 shooting while he pulled down five boards and blocked a couple of shots.</p> <p><strong>Berger is Back</strong></p> <p>In the summer, Century senior <strong>Daniel Berger</strong> suffered a torn ACL and it was feared that he would be out the entire season - a huge blow considering it was expected that he would be the team's leading scorer. It turns out rehab went well and Berger was cleared to play - with Wednesday his first game of the season. It didn't take long to see the impact that Berger would have. The 6-foot-5 wing didn't start, but seconds after he came into the game in the first quarter he scored and then scored on another couple of buckets minutes later. While things cooled off the rest of the game, six points on 3-for-7 shooting after coming off a major knee injury was big for Berger for sure.</p> <p><strong>Century Still In Contention</strong></p> <p>With the loss, Century dropped to 3-3 in league play with their third loss in a row. Despite the large margin of defeat, the Jaguars simply have to pick things up and move on. Their previous two losses were only by two points each and against a team in Liberty also fighting for third place and against second place Forest Grove. The Jaguars have a great guard tandem of <strong>Jospin Mugisha</strong>, <strong>Edy Essien</strong>, and <strong>Ikin Chan</strong> and there will definitely be nights when they shoot better than 5-for-20 combined. Junior forward <strong>Chance Sparks</strong> provides great energy and athleticism up front and the return of Berger to the lineup will only boost Century's offense going forward as they fight for a post-season berth.</p>