Caldera's Mason Macomber drives in for a basket during the Wolfpack's 78-76 win over West Linn on Jan. 17.

If one could write up a perfect script to close out the nonleague schedule, it might be the Caldera boys basketball team’s underdog heroics against a 6A powerhouse.

It looked like a potential blowout in the first quarter against West Linn on Friday night at Caldera, but the Wolfpack scrapped and clawed their way to a marquee victory heading into 5A Intermountain Conference play next week.

Senior guard Miles Macomber took the game by the horns in the closing minutes, scoring the final nine points for the Wolfpack, including the game-winner with 1.6 seconds left to send the packed house into a frenzy, as the student section rushed the court not once, but twice.

Final: Caldera 78, West Linn 76.

“I just drove, threw something up and it went in,” said Macomber, who finished with 19 points. “And that’s how it went.”

It was not only a signature win for Caldera this season, but its best win in the four-year history of the program.

“We got that win through our belief and grit,” said first-year Caldera coach Evan Dougherty. “I know we could have folded after that first quarter. We tried to keep them in front of us and get out on shooters. We just stayed focused. We talked all season about trying to put a full game together, especially offensively, and we did that today.”

The game was a matchup between two top-five teams. West Linn (10-3 overall), which played without its top player Gavin Gross, entered the game as the No. 3 Class 6A team in the OSAA rankings. Caldera (10-4) was, and remains, 5A’s No. 1 team.

Even without Gross in the lineup, West Linn came out firing, scoring 30 points in the opening quarter to take a 30-19 lead. The Wolfpack were able to cut the lead down to 49-40 at halftime, in large part due to senior guard Jack Bents, who scored nine of his game-high 21 in the second quarter to keep the Wolfpack within striking distance.

“I’ve been putting in consistent work, putting in time on my days off,” Bents said. “I just trusted the work that I’ve been putting in.”

The Wolfpack defense picked up in the second half and the once scorching-hot shooting from the Lions began to cool down. Heading into the fourth quarter, Caldera trailed 59-54.

“Our defensive scrambles were great in the second half,” Macomber said. “I think that’s what helped us get back into it.”

With four minutes remaining in the game, West Linn had built a 70-61 lead. In the decisive-stretch of the game, the Wolfpack outscored the Lions 18-6. Senior guard Aiden Cruz scored five of his 10 points in the fourth quarter to keep the Lions from closing out the game.

But in the final two minutes, Macomber caught fire. He scored 10 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter with nine of them coming in the final two minutes. He scored on a tough baseline drive to make it a 74-71 game with 1:45 remaining. Then he tied the game 74-74 with a corner 3-pointer with 1:14 left.

“After that 3 went in I felt like we had a chance to put the game away,” Macomber said. “I know we feel as a group, we know we have a shot at winning.”

“I could see it in their eyes,” Dougherty said. “It came down to execution and heart.”

West Linn had never trailed until another Macomber layup gave the Wolfpack the lead with 30 seconds remaining. West Linn’s Jalen Snook tied the game at 76 with a pair of free throws with 16 seconds left.

With its final possession, Macomber came through once again. Interestingly enough, the play was designed to get Cruz the ball on the wing behind the 3-point line. But somehow the ball ended up in Macomber’s hand, and he drove into the paint and buried a fadeaway jumper off the glass.

“The ball wasn’t supposed to go to him,” Dougherty said. “But that is the beauty of how things work out sometimes.”

All five Wolfpack starters finished in double-figures in the win. Senior post William Jenson finished with 12 points and senior guard Seb Fievet added 10 points.

It is hard to imagine a better way to cap off the nonleague schedule for the Wolfpack, as they have won seven of eight games and pulled off a massive upset heading into IMC play next Wednesday against Ridgeview.

“This is a great starting point for IMC play, we are really excited about that,” Macomber said. “It feels like being IMC champs could be coming our way.”

Changes to the Intermountain Conference

If it feels like it is taking forever for Intermountain Conference play to start this year, that is because there was a major change made this season.

Since the realigned IMC started in 2022, the six teams played one another three times, for a total of 15 league games per team during the past two seasons. This year, there will be only 10 IMC games per team and teams will only play one another twice.

It is a change that has mostly received positive reviews.

“It is nice that you don’t have to play each other three times,” said Bend High boys basketball coach Ted Aubin. “It also amps up the importance of each game.”

“I love the change,” said Mountain View girls basketball coach Jon Corbett. “It made December really tough to find extra games to play. But I don’t think any coach liked playing everybody three times. I think it is better for the bottom teams and better for the top teams in the league to only have to play each other twice. “

On the flip side, Ridgeview boys basketball coach Maarty Luenen will miss playing each team three times, mentioning that fewer league games means that there are less games with the atmosphere that league games bring. The crowds are generally smaller and there is less energy for nonleague games. Plus, it was challenging to find teams from outside the area to come to Central Oregon to play.

Not counting tournament games, the Ravens played just three home games against non-Central Oregon teams, while traveling outside the area for six games.

“You get more students that come to the games, more storylines to the games with the rivalries, I enjoyed playing three games,” Leunen said. “With two games, there is more riding on the game, every game is a championship game.”