Jameel Morton looked away, thinking he had missed it.
Something told him to look back at the ball, though.
Indeed, he got the shooter’s bounce, and the sophomore got the first game-winner of his varsity career.
Morton hit a 3-pointer with 2 seconds left, lifting Columbia River to a 47-44 victory over Prairie in the opening game of Class 3A Greater St. Helens League boys basketball play Wednesday night.
Prairie’s Palmer Goecke buried a 3-pointer to tie the game with 13 seconds remaining, setting up Morton for his dramatic finish.
“I didn’t know how much time was left. I just grabbed the ball and shot it,” Morton said. “I was just hoping it would go in. Luckily, it did.”
Columbia River coach David Long opted not to take a timeout after Goecke’s shot, hoping to catch Prairie’s defense off guard.
Instead, the Falcons did retreat on time to stop the initial drive from Andrew Vickers.
The ball then ended up in Morton’s hands.
“I thought I was going to brick it,” Morton acknowledged. “I looked away, and then I looked back, and it went in.”
“We didn’t want the defense to get set,” Long said. “We’ve got to go. If it’s under 8 seconds, we’ll take a timeout. But with 11 or 12, we want to get out and go.”
Jacob Hjort had the hot hand all night for the Chieftains (9-3, 1-0 3A GSHL). He was 6 of 10 from the floor — all 3-pointers — and finished with a game-high 18 points.
Spencer Long had eight of his 11 points in the second half for River. Vickers also finished with eight points.
Goecke and Seth Hall led Prairie (9-4, 0-1) with 12 points each. Goecke, who did not score in the first half, made four 3-pointers in the second half.
Morton had six points — two 3-pointers.
“We had him on the floor mainly for his defense, but he can shoot, too,” David Long said. “That was pretty clutch.”
Morton appreciated that it was a fortunate bounce, too.
“I don’t know if it was lucky or if I’m a good shooter,” he said.
“It’s a sigh of relief, though, because they’re a good team and we got them.”
Morton might be young but already has learned how to talk like a coach.
“This is a good win for us, but we still have to focus on the main task,” Morton said. “We want to win the league, and we want to go to the playoffs for state.”
It was a good start toward that goal for the Columbia River. The Chieftains made 10 3-pointers, including one with a bounce to win the game.
COLUMBIA RIVER 47, PRAIRIE 44
PRAIRIE — Palmer Goecke 12, Kameron Osborn 3, Michael Stockbridge 6, Seth Hall 12, Ethan Rouse 0, Dwayne Stewart 2, Greg Bernash 5, Ronnie McPherson 4. Totals 16 (7) 5-10 44.
COLUMBIA RIVER — Jordan Hall 2, Andrew Vickers 8, Jameel Morton 6, Jacob Hjort 18, Nathan Hockhalter 0, Spencer Long 11, Spencer Black 2. Totals 15 (10) 7-14 47.
Prairie 7 7 15 15–44
Col. River 8 12 8 19–47
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