The road continued to be a friendly place for the Phoenix boys' basketball team on Friday night.

And it's going to be have that away again this week!!!

The Pirates traveled to Sweet Home for a 4A play-in game and knocked out the host Huskies, scoring a 64-51 victory to advance the Round of 16 in the OSAA state playoffs. Phoenix (14-10 overall) visits Philomath (23-1) on Saturday night for the right to advance to the 4A State Tournament in Forest Grove.

After trailing early, the Pirates got untracked and never looked back at Sweet Home. Braeden Watts scored 12 of his team-high 14 points in the first half, including an off-balance shot at the buzzer to put his team ahead 36-18 at intermission. Sweet Home made a couple surges in the second half but was never able to get closer than seven points as the Pirates closed out their 10th win of the season on the road.

The Pirates hit eight three-pointers in the game and outrebounded Sweet Home 39-20. Nico Ortega added 11 points for Phoenix.