Westside Christian 81 Pleasant Hill 51
Westside dominated in the first and second halves, on offense and on defense, with starters and with their bench, from the perimeter and the paint, on the boards and in the turnover battle. There was no phase where Pleasant Hill had an advantage–except for crowd turnout. The Billies brought a very solid pep band with them. Westside might have had pregame butterflies, making their first tournament appearance since 2008, but it did not show almost at all. The result was never in doubt. Westside will play Cascade Christian in the semifinals at noon tomorrow at Marshfield. Pleasant Hill will play Umatilla at 8 a.m., also at Marshfield.
Cascade Christian 66 Umatilla 36
Austin Maurer. That’s it. That’s the story. Umatilla fought, but with no real chance of scoring inside, turning over the ball consistently due to Challenger pressure, and they had no success stopping Maurer. Wherever he was on the floor, it was over quickly. This was mostly a bench match by the end of the 3rd quarter. Cascade Christian will play Westside at noon tomorrow at Marshfield in the semifinals. Umatilla will play Pleasant Hill at 8 a.m., also at Marshfield.
Vale 55 Dayton 50
Two minutes into the third quarter of this barnburner, we were shocked to see that Tyler Spink had only 5 points. Well, it was not long after that observation that he began to lead the Dayton Pirates to a hard-fought victory. This matchup was a contrast of styles, and while Vale never had a lead, they had every chance to win this game–that is, until Spink took away those chances. Dayton will play De La Salle in the semifinals tomorrow evening at Marshfield at 1:45 p.m. Vale will play Oregon Episcopal at 9:45 a.m. at Marshfield.
De La Salle 76 Oregon Episcopal 47
Though we were not able to confirm this with him, it seemed as though Mathias Billings decided in the first quarter that he wanted to single-handedly end the Aardvarks’ semifinal hopes, and his 16 first-quarter points did just that. De La Salle did not play their cleanest game, but their class shone through nonetheless. If they continue moving the ball as well as they did in this game, they will be strong title contenders. De La Salle will play Dayton in the semifinals tomorrow evening at Marshfield at 1:45 p.m. Oregon Episcopal will play Vale at 9:45 a.m. at Marshfield.
Oregon Episcopal 39 Creswell 32
In the opening game of the girls bracket, Cayton Smith was able to do just enough for her 16-seeded Aardvarks to punch their ticket to the final four. The leader for OES relieved a ton of pressure for her side, taking control of the ball in a game where Creswell did all they could to press. Smith was able to remain composed, shooting 10-of-15 at the line, which made up for a 4-of-16 performance from the field. The junior finished with 19 points, 11 boards, and 7 steals to keep the Cinderella story alive. Oregon Episcopal will play Burns at 4:15 p.m. tomorrow evening at Marshfield. Creswell will play Santiam Chistian in a league rematch at 9 a.m. at North Bend.
Burns 47 Santiam Christian 43
In the other game in the top of the bracket, SC stormed out of the gates for an early 10-2 lead. However, the early lead would not down the Hilanders as they would chip away to eventually tie the game at half. Kaitlyn Wright took over in the second half to get the Hilanders over the hump. Wright went on a stretch in the third quarter, scoring 11 straight points, which allowed Burns to keep SC at arm’s length. The game ultimately came down to the turnover differential, as SC had nearly a third the amount that Burns had. Burns will play Oregon Episcopal at 4:15 p.m. tomorrow evening at Marshfield. Santiam Christian will play Creswell in a league rematch at 9 a.m. at North Bend.
Sutherlin 64 Amity 31
Amity started hot and then burned out. Did Sutherlin underestimate Amity, fueled by their early season rout at the Salem Academy tournament? Probably not, but it is definitely an easy excuse to make if you really wanted to. The bottom line is these two teams are not in the same tier. Sutherlin is far and away the best team in 3A and is a step above the next contender. Amity is a good team, maybe a great team next year, but their time is not now. Sutherlin got punched in the mouth and punched right back. Sutherlin will play tomorrow at 6 p.m. at Marshfield against Nyssa. Amity will play at 10:45 a.m. at North Bend against Brookings-Harbor.
Nyssa 51 Brookings-Harbor 27
Nyssa is in the contenders column, and Brookings-Harbor is not. The Bruins are talented and deserve to be here, but they were just a step behind. Nyssa brought the energy from the opening tip, on the floor and in the stands, but there was not enough going offensively behind the arc to keep it close. Nyssa will play Sutherlin tomorrow at 6 p.m. at Marsh field, and Brookings-Harbor will play Amity at 10:45 a.m. at North Bend.
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