Roseburg boys drop conference opener, 61-53 at Willamette

EUGENE — Harrison Scott scored a season-high 20 points, but it wasn’t enough for the Roseburg boys basketball team to hold off Willamette in a 61-53 Southwest Conference loss on Friday at the Wolverine Den.

Scott made five of his six 3-point field goals in the first half to help the Indians build a 33-32 lead.

“He’s had a couple of games like that, when teams decide to zone us a little bit and we can knock down some shots,” Roseburg coach Jordan Humphreys said. “We did a pretty good job in the first half of moving the ball and getting it to him.”

The shots stopped falling in the second half and Willamette outscored Roseburg 29-20. Humphreys noted the Indians needed to be better on the glass.

Roseburg (3-10, 0-1 SWC) battled foul trouble throughout the contest. Owen Bentea and Kaden Luther, Roseburg’s top two scorers, both had four fouls each and Jaren Leeworthy fouled out.

Bentea finished with 13 points.

Willamette (4-9, 1-0) also dealt with a heavy load of whistles. The Wolverines saw Tony Cumberland and Berkley Grandberry both foul out.

Cumberland netted 13 points before exiting the game, tied with Jacob Hall for the team lead. They helped the Wolverines win their third consecutive game and earn their first conference victory since beating Roseburg 56-47 on Feb. 10, 2023.

Roseburg will continue conference play with a home game against North Medford at 6:45 p.m. Tuesday.

ROSEBURG (53) — Harrison Scott 20, Leeworthy 4, Fanugao 4, Palm, Frable, Bentea 13, Cantrell 4, Luther 8, Kemmerle. Totals 20 6-18 53.

WILLAMETTE (61) — Jacob Hall 13, Tony Cumberland 13, Zumwalt 6, Grandberry 6, J. Butler 11, McCann 5, Newton 5, Burke 2. Totals 25 6-18 61.

Roseburg 15 18 10 10 — 53

Willamette 16 16 16 13 — 61

3-Point Goals — Rose. 7 (Scott 6, Bentea 1), Will. 5 (Zumwalt 2, Hall 1, J. Butler 1, McCann 1). Total Fouls — Rose. 19, Will. 20. Fouled Out — Leeworthy, Grandberry, Cumberland.

JV Score — Willamette 54, Roseburg 47.