Chase Allgood / For The BulletinMadras' Voshaun Bryant puts up a shot during the first half of Thursday night's 41-30 loss to Philomath.

HILLSBORO — The start was just about as good as Madras could have hoped for. But the White Buffaloes could not make it last, and they fell to No. 2 seed Philomath 41-30 in a Class 4A boys basketball state quarterfinal game Thursday night at Century High School.

Madras, the No. 10 seed, tries to keep its season alive at 10:45 a.m. today in a consolation semifinal game against North Valley at Liberty High School. North Valley, the No. 3 seed, was upended 62-61 in overtime by No. 11 North Marion in an earlier quarterfinal game Thursday.

The White Buffaloes (20-7) scored the game’s first eight points against the defending state champions, with a basket and a 3-point play by Brent Sullivan sandwiching a 3-point jumper by Devon Wolfe. The Warriors (24-2), riding an 11-game winning streak into the state tourney, did not score until Jack Lehman made a layup with 4:40 remaining in the first period.

Then, said Madras coach Allen Hair: “We just stopped scoring.”

The Buffs became their own worst enemy, turning the ball over 14 times in the first half and 27 times for the game. Those turnovers helped Philomath get its offense going.

“We gave them some easy baskets,” said Hair.

“Too many easy baskets. And we couldn’t get into any flow offensively whatsoever. You can’t win a state tournament game with 27 turnovers,” Hair added.

For the night, Madras made just 10 of its 42 shots from the field.

“We shot 24 percent (for the game), and at halftime we had 11 points,” said Hair. “That we were still in the game at that point (down just 14-11) was a testament to how hard we played defensively. It was an ugly game. (Philomath committed 22 turnovers of its own.) Both teams were just battling and fighting and clawing and scratching.”

It did not help the White Buffaloes that their senior leader, guard Jered Pichette, got into early foul trouble. It was a frustrating night for the two-time Tri-Valley Conference player of the year, who picked up his third foul midway through the second quarter and contributed nine turnovers to the pile of Madras giveaways. He fouled out late in the fourth period — after the Warriors had taken control — but in 24 minutes Pichette posted a team-high 10 points and also led the Buffs with six steals and three assists.

Sullivan, who finished with seven points, grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds. Voshaun Bryant scored four points and Austin Rauschenburg and Wolfe added three apiece in what was the lowest-scoring game of the season for the White Buffaloes.

A steal and layup by Pichette put Madras ahead 15-14 at the 5:17 mark of the third quarter. But Philomath reeled off eight straight points to take a 22-15 lead, and the Buffaloes never got closer than three points the rest of the way.

“We don’t have time to sulk,” Hair said, noting his team’s early start in consolation play today. “But if we play hard tomorrow the way we did tonight, especially defensively, I like our chances.”