In a battle of 3-point goals, it was Siuslaw senior Avery Hart's old-fashioned 3-point play that turned the tide of war between South Coast basketball foes.

Hart added both ends of a one-and-one for a 5-point mini run as the Vikings pulled away for a 55-47 victory over the Tigers in a nonleague boys clash at Glenn Butler Court.

"It wasn't the prettiest, but we will always take the Win!" Siuslaw coach Dylan Perry said. "Sloppy play on our part. We need to do a better job taking care of the ball."

Part of the ragged play easily could be written off to a lack of practice time for the players coming off a championship football season. Several players, including starters Hart and Braydon Thornton, had only two practices together.

Siuslaw also had a good opening test in Bandon, ranked No. 8 in the OSAAtoday 2A coaches preseason poll.

"Hats off to Bandon," Perry said. "They're going to be a solid basketball team this year. They played hard and tough. It was a great opener for us.

"Time for practice number 3 tomorrow."

Senior backcourt players Thornton and Brody Terry had 15 points each to lead Siuslaw, Terry hitting four of the Vikings' seven 3-pointers. Hart added 10 as the five Vikings starters had all 55 points.

Siuslaw, 1-0, heads to Newport on Friday and North Bend on Monday. Newport beat Tillamook on Wednesday, 71-56.

Bandon plays at Elkton on Saturday.

Wednesday, Siuslaw saw a 13-point halftime lead shrink to one point, 41-40, early in the fourth quarter.

But Hart emerged from a scrum in the key to sink the basket and draw a foul. His free-throw made it 44-40.

Hart followed a minute later with two free throws to put the Vikings up by six, 46-40.

Bandon trimmed the lead to four, 46-42, but senior Brody Terry drilled a 3-point goal from somewhere near Mapleton to build the lead to seven, 49-42.

Siuslaw scored its final six points from the free-throw line to preserve the opening-night win.

Bandon finished with nine 3-point goals, some from well beyond the arc. Siuslaw had seven 3-point goals, but put up a stouter defense, especially in fourth-quarter crunch time.

Siuslaw led by 13 points at halftime, 32-19, after taking a 15-8 lead at the end of the first quarter.

The Tigers sank four 3-pointers in the first half to remain in range.

In other games involving Sky-Em League teams:

Junction City opened its season with a 53-13 win at North Valley.

Elmira dropped its opener at Sweet Home, 44-26.

Cottage Grove won at Hidden Valley, 77-34.

Marist opens Friday at North Marion.

Marshfield plays Springfield on Friday in the Pirates' opening game of the Wilsonville Tournament.

NOTES

Siuslaw is ranked No. 6 in the Mid Major Media Class 4A preseason top 10. … Four Sky-Em League teams are in the top 10, including Marshfield at No. 1, Marist at No. 7 and Junction City at No. 10. …

BANDON      8  11  18  10  —  47
SIUSLAW   15  17    9  14  —  55
Vikings scoring — Braydon Thornton 5 3-5 15, Brody Terry 4 3-4 15, Avery Hart 3 4-5 10, Chad Hughes 4 0-0 8, Isaac Mattson 3 0-0 7, Camp Lacouture 0 0-0 0, Aiden Jefferis 0 0-0 0.
Totals 19 10-16 55.
3-point goals (7) — Brody Terry 4, Braydon Thornton 2, Izaac Mattson 1.

VARSITY ROSTER
  0 Kyle Hughes, junior, forward, 6-5
  1 Chad Hughes, senior, forward, 6-6
  2 Braydon Thornton, senior, guard, 6-2
  3 Izaac Mattson, senior, guard, 6-2
  4 Sam Ulrich, junior, guard, 5-10
  5 Camp Lacouture, senior, guard, 6-0
11 Jimmy Allen, junior, guard, 6-2
12 Harrison Hubner, senior, guard, 6-0
13 Brody Terry, senior, guard, 5-11
14 Andrew Jensen-Norman, sophomore, forward, 6-3
21 Aiden Jefferis, senior, forward, 6-1
22 Odin Smith, junior, guard, 5-11
23 Joe Slaughter, senior, guard 6-0
34 Avery Hart, senior, forward, 6-5
35 Victor Ayala, junior, guard, 5-11
Coach: Dylan Perry
Assistants: Brian Carmer, Nick Johnson

JUNIOR VARSITY ROSTER
  0 Kyle Hughes, junior, forward, 6-5
  1 Chaz Edblom, freshman, guard, 5-11
  4 Sam Ulrich, junior, guard, 5-10
10 Landon Severy, sophomore, center, 6-6
13 Jordan Strickland, sophomore, guard, 5-10
14 Andrew Jensen-Norman, sophomore, forward, 6-3
22 Odin Smith, junior, guard, 5-11
35 Victor Ayala, junior, junior, 5-10
     Peyton Sandusky, sophomore, forward, 6-1
     Braxton Hulet, sophomore, guard, 5-10
     Owen Garneau, sophomore, forward, 6-0
Coach: Nick Johnson

SCHEDULE
Record: 1-0 overall, 0-0 Sky-Em League
Dec. 1 — at Siuslaw 55, Bandon 47
Friday, Dec. 3 — at Newport, 7 p.m.
Monday, Dec. 6 — at North Bend, 7:15 p.m.
Wednesday, Dec. 8 — at Pleasant Hill, 7:30 p.m.
Friday, Dec. 10 — vs. Monroe, 4 p.m., at Harrisburg Tournament
Saturday, Dec. 11 — at Harrisburg Tournament
Tuesday, Dec. 14 — Newport, 7:15 p.m.
Friday, Dec. 17 — vs. Sutherlin, 4:30 p.m., at Creswell Tournament
Saturday, Dec. 18  — at Creswell Tournament
Tuesday, Dec. 21 — Pleasant Hill, 5:45 p.m.
Wednesday, Dec. 29 — at Newport Tournament
Thursday, Dec. 30 — at Newport Tournament
Tuesday, Jan. 4 — at Sutherlin, 7 p.m.
Friday, Jan. 7 — at Sky-Em/Skyline Crossover
Saturday, Jan. 8 — at Sky-Em/Skyline Crossover
Friday, Jan. 14 — at Marist, 5:45 p.m.
Tuesday, Jan. 18 — at Marshfield, 5:45 p.m.
Friday, Jan. 21 — Elmira, 5:45 p.m.
Tuesday, Jan. 25 — at Junction City, 5:45 p.m.
Friday, Jan. 28 — Cottage Grove, 5:45 p.m.
Friday, Feb. 4 — Marist, 7:15 p.m.
Tuesday, Feb. 8 — Marshfield, 7:15 p.m.
Friday, Feb. 11 — at Elmira, 7:15 p.m.
Tuesday, Feb. 15 — Junction City, 7:15 p.m.
Friday, Feb. 18 — at Cottage Grove, 7:15 p.m.