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Emotions show on senior night
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| H&N photo by Andrew Mariman OIT’s Levell Hesia passes to a teammate in the Owls game against Eastern Oregon. |
February 13, 2007
Levell Hesia sat on a bench in the Oregon Tech locker room and stared, momentarily, to the distance.
“It's gone by so fast,” the 5-foot-5 senior point guard said. “It just seemed like yesterday I was holding up the scoring trophy at Mazama. It's all so clear.”
So was the realization that eight years of basketball in Klamath Falls was coming to an end, all too quickly.
He told his mother he did not want her to cry during Senior Night ceremonies before the Hustlin' Owls played their final regular season game of his career in Klamath Falls.
She did well.
Her son, the affable crowd favorite who should join senior Alan Johnson as the only two Oregon Tech players ever to play in four national tournaments, did not.
The tears were visible to all who know Hesia.
He was able to refocus quickly.
There was a challenge at hand, the tall, talented Mountaineers from Eastern Oregon University, along with another shot at the OIT record book.
With just over three and one-half minutes left in the first half, Hesia connected on a free throw. The point made him the first Hustlin' Owl ever to score 2,000 career points in men's basketball.
He also had a three-point goal. His next one will leave him with the second highest number of three-pointers in school history.
“I just wanted to accomplish a few things at OIT, and win a national championship,” he said as he slowly wondered toward Danny Miles Court to greet his family.
“It was real emotional,” Hesia said. “I have spent all my life trying to get to the highest point of my career, and (Saturday) night was that night. It's pretty emotional to think of that.”
Garrett's special memories
Saturday's Senior Night was special for Joshua Garrett, too.
With OIT at 25-3, including a 13-3 Cascade Collegiate Conference record, Garrett is enjoying more victories than he did in his first two years in the league when he was at Cascade College.
“I never lost like I did at Cascade, but coming here was not that big of an adjustment,” he said. “I knew, once I came here, that we'd have to team that has a chance to win every time we take the court.”
Garrett was the first of the five seniors introduced for Senior Night, and was followed by Danny Mills, Souleymane Traore, Johnson and Hesia.
Going for a fourth
Johnson and Hesia should become OIT's first players ever to play in the NAIA Division II national tournament four times.
Johnson, a fifth-year senior, went as a freshman and then redshirted a season and has returned to Branson, Mo., as a sophomore and junior.
Hesia will be the first player to go to four straight national tournaments.
If the Hustlin' Owls are unable to win the regular season league championship or conference tournament title, their ranking should remain high enough to get them an at-large bid to the national tournament.
A quick look ahead
OIT will complete the regular season Friday at Corban and Saturday at Concordia. While there are no givens, the Owls should win twice and finish league play 15-3, which, at worst, would be second place.
Warner Pacific will take a 14-2 record to Evergreen State and Northwest this weekend, and both Washington schools have added incentive to win - a better playoff chance, Northwest in particular.
A Northwest win would give the Eagles fourth place and a home game, rather than a trip to LaGrande to play Eastern Oregon. Northwest could tie Albertson for third if it were to beat Warner Pacific and EOU stops Albertson.
The conference playoffs for the men begin Wednesday, Feb. 21.
The women's race
OIT needs to match Southern Oregon to get a home playoff game and still could tie Corban for third place if the Owls were to sweep Corban and Concordia this weekend, and SOU were to beat Corban.
If OIT splits and SOU wins twice, the Owls would finish fifth and travel for the first round of the league playoffs, which, for the women, begin Tuesday, Feb. 20.
- By Steve Mathies
Levell Hesia sat on a bench in the Oregon Tech locker room and stared, momentarily, to the distance.
“It's gone by so fast,” the 5-foot-5 senior point guard said. “It just seemed like yesterday I was holding up the scoring trophy at Mazama. It's all so clear.”
So was the realization that eight years of basketball in Klamath Falls was coming to an end, all too quickly.
He told his mother he did not want her to cry during Senior Night ceremonies before the Hustlin' Owls played their final regular season game of his career in Klamath Falls.
She did well.
Her son, the affable crowd favorite who should join senior Alan Johnson as the only two Oregon Tech players ever to play in four national tournaments, did not.
The tears were visible to all who know Hesia.
He was able to refocus quickly.
There was a challenge at hand, the tall, talented Mountaineers from Eastern Oregon University, along with another shot at the OIT record book.
With just over three and one-half minutes left in the first half, Hesia connected on a free throw. The point made him the first Hustlin' Owl ever to score 2,000 career points in men's basketball.
He also had a three-point goal. His next one will leave him with the second highest number of three-pointers in school history.
“I just wanted to accomplish a few things at OIT, and win a national championship,” he said as he slowly wondered toward Danny Miles Court to greet his family.
“It was real emotional,” Hesia said. “I have spent all my life trying to get to the highest point of my career, and (Saturday) night was that night. It's pretty emotional to think of that.”
Garrett's special memories
Saturday's Senior Night was special for Joshua Garrett, too.
With OIT at 25-3, including a 13-3 Cascade Collegiate Conference record, Garrett is enjoying more victories than he did in his first two years in the league when he was at Cascade College.
“I never lost like I did at Cascade, but coming here was not that big of an adjustment,” he said. “I knew, once I came here, that we'd have to team that has a chance to win every time we take the court.”
Garrett was the first of the five seniors introduced for Senior Night, and was followed by Danny Mills, Souleymane Traore, Johnson and Hesia.
Going for a fourth
Johnson and Hesia should become OIT's first players ever to play in the NAIA Division II national tournament four times.
Johnson, a fifth-year senior, went as a freshman and then redshirted a season and has returned to Branson, Mo., as a sophomore and junior.
Hesia will be the first player to go to four straight national tournaments.
If the Hustlin' Owls are unable to win the regular season league championship or conference tournament title, their ranking should remain high enough to get them an at-large bid to the national tournament.
A quick look ahead
OIT will complete the regular season Friday at Corban and Saturday at Concordia. While there are no givens, the Owls should win twice and finish league play 15-3, which, at worst, would be second place.
Warner Pacific will take a 14-2 record to Evergreen State and Northwest this weekend, and both Washington schools have added incentive to win - a better playoff chance, Northwest in particular.
A Northwest win would give the Eagles fourth place and a home game, rather than a trip to LaGrande to play Eastern Oregon. Northwest could tie Albertson for third if it were to beat Warner Pacific and EOU stops Albertson.
The conference playoffs for the men begin Wednesday, Feb. 21.
The women's race
OIT needs to match Southern Oregon to get a home playoff game and still could tie Corban for third place if the Owls were to sweep Corban and Concordia this weekend, and SOU were to beat Corban.
If OIT splits and SOU wins twice, the Owls would finish fifth and travel for the first round of the league playoffs, which, for the women, begin Tuesday, Feb. 20.
- By Steve Mathies
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| Basin swimmers head to state meet |
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Bill Hoffman wrote on Apr 10, 2008 10:07 AM:
" Long live Matt Miles! He was the "Billy Kilmer" of Semi Pro Football: tough, gritty, fiery leader, winning mentality. I will never forget this "young gunslinger", he made this league better for being in it.
Respectfully submitted,
Bill Hoffman
CO Stampede, #45 "
Respectfully submitted,
Bill Hoffman
CO Stampede, #45 "
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Ken Karnes wrote on Oct 3, 2008 4:23 PM: