The game meant much more to Hillsboro than it did to Wilsonville—at least in the standings—and the Spartans played like it—taking the opening tipoff and running up a 7-0 lead on the league-leading Wildcats.

But the wheels came off the Spartans battle wagon just as suddenly. When their only strong post player, Colt Lyerla, was sent to the bench with two fouls, Wilsonville ran wild, building a 22-11 lead midway in the second quarter that ended all drama for the rest of the game.

Hillsboro has four effective perimeter players, but the post is a vacancy without Lyerla, a physical phenomenon whose rebounds and defensive intimidation outstrip his modest scoring contributions. Without him, they are half the team they can be.

Coach Antoine Shired’s challenge all season has been protecting against Lyerla’s Achilles’ heel: foul trouble. The big guy cannot contain himself when there’s a chance to block a shot around the basket. So Shired pulls him out as soon as he draws a whistle. Against Wilsonville, that meant he sat much of the first and most of the second periods when Hillsboro lost control of the game.

Sitting a key player who gets a couple of early fouls is a common practice, but does it make sense in this case? This strategy has exactly the same consequence as the possibility the coach is trying to avoid: doing without a key player due to the foul count. The only reasons to take the medicine early rather than possibly paying later are to reinforce in the player’s mind the importance of playing more carefully and to have him available at a more crucial juncture later in the game.

For Hillsboro, the turning point came early. By the second half, if was all but too late anyway. Lyerla played most of the second half and finished with four fouls. Assuming the same rate of fouling, he would probably have been good for about five more minutes of action before being disqualified for his fifth infraction. If applied to the first half, those five extra minutes might have kept the Spartans in the game.

Benching a player for foul trouble makes more sense when a team has the lead. When trailing and are falling out of contention, it’s cutting off your nose to spite your face.

Wilsonville sewed up the Northwest Oregon Conference title. They lead Glencoe by two games with one game left on the schedule. Hillsboro could have gained a second-place tie with a victory. Now they could fall to fourth place by dropping their final contest. Second place entails a first-round bye in the playoffs. Fourth place means an opening round road game.

By the way, Wilsonville has quite a team. Michael MacKelvie does a bit of everything—often spectacularly—and last year’s underclassmen starters (6-6 post Seth Gearhart and point guard Kevin Marshall) are much improved. The Wildcats have far greater depth than in past years and substitute freely. They also run more. Their stay-at-home man defense is masterful and quite a change of pace in an era when everyone seems to zone.

If having two sophomores and four juniors in the rotation isn’t enough to show that Wilsonville will be good for years to come, the halftime show—in which fifth graders from their youth program scrimmaged—sealed the deal. Everyone on the floor had a good idea of his mission, showed sound judgment with the ball and fine skills for this age. Then they introduced an army of other youths involved with other levels of Wildcat basketball. They’ve got things covered for at least the next decade.

Hillsboro     11 12   8 22 -- 53
Wilsonville  11 24 12 19 -- 66
Hillsboro -- Justin Drake 14, Jackson 13, Mims 13, Fernstrom 8, Lyerla 5, Myers, Dulaney, Luttrell, Smythe, McLennan.
Wilsonville -- Grant McNeil 16, MacKelvie 15, Gearhart 15, Marshall 14, Schwarzer 4, James 2, Koford, Etzel, Conroy.