Bulldogs the talk of the town after beating Marist in opener.

Byline: Jeff Smith The Register-Guard

CRESWELL - All the seats quickly filled up, forcing those that kept filing in to find a place to stand.

In the waning moments of the game, though, many of the others packed into the Creswell High School gym were on their feet applauding second-ranked Creswell's 74-63 victory over fifth-ranked Marist in the Sky-Em League boys basketball opener for both teams.

"The thing about this town, when you have a good basketball team, they all come out to watch," Creswell coach Ron Lampe said. "It was neat to see everybody. This was a big game."

It also was Creswell's (10-1, 1-0) first game since Dec. 29, a 45-43 loss to league rival Junction City in a tournament in Redmond. The teams were supposed to kick off league play with a rematch Tuesday, but were forced to remain idle because of the weather.

"We were pretty anxious to play," Bulldogs senior Jim McQuiston said. "It was pretty crazy. I missed not playing."

McQuiston's thirst for the game was on full display in the first quarter. The 6-foot-1 wing scored 19 of his career-high 29 points in the opening eight minutes, including four of his six three-pointers.

"It's the best feeling in the world," McQuiston said. "The first shot always gets me going, and then you just want to keep hitting every shot."

McQuiston closed out both the first and second quarters with three-pointers before the buzzers, but the Spartans outscored the Bulldogs 16-9 in the second quarter to force a 32-32 halftime tie.

Lampe knew Marist (3-8, 0-1) would focus on McQuiston in the second half and told his team that somebody else would need to step up.

Boe Burrus promptly responded with 16 of his 18 points in the second half, including four three-pointers.

"Boe was huge," Lampe said.

Creswell, which also got 11 points from Nick Finley, won the third quarter 21-10, and then held off a Spartans' surge in the fourth.

Senior Ryan Coldren scored a team-high 23 points and Tyler Coleman chipped in 17, but they were the only Spartans in double figures.

The Bulldogs' focus now shifts to Monday's game at Junction City.

"We have a target on our backs now," McQuiston said. "It's kind of fun."

Junction City 63,

Cottage Grove 41

COTTAGE GROVE - Micah Mooney scored 25 points to help the Tigers pull away in the second half.

Dele Opeifa added 12 and David Benson 11 for Junction City.

Ernie Rubio scored 16 points and Dayton Edwards 11 to lead Cottage Grove.

Siuslaw 61, La Pine 48

FLORENCE - Ben Voogd scored a game-high 30 points to lead the Vikings.

Zack Logsdon scored 16 points to lead La Pine, which also got 10 points from Brad Larson.

Elmira 37, Pleasant Hill 35

ELMIRA - Sten Sherritt scored 12 points, including two free throws with four seconds left that gave the Falcons the victory.

Matt Brink scored 13 points for the Billies.

CAPTION(S):

Creswell's Tyler Sears gets fouled by Marist's Josh Rossow in the Bulldogs' 73-62 victory over the Spartans. Wayne Eastburn / The Register-Guard Creswell's Jim McQuiston, who scored a season-high 29 points, drives past Marist's Drew Tillman.