We are finally here! The 2020 3A Boys Basketball State Tournament is finally upon us! There are 16 teams remaining with the same goal of cutting the nets down on March 7 at Marshfield HS in Coos Bay, Or.
Four bubble teams that came offaly close to making it...
Portland Adventist Academy
PAA was one of the hottest teams in the state and was a possession away from upsetting Riverdale in Districts. PAA shocked the state of Oregon with an upset over #1 De La Salle on senior night. Those seniors will remember that game for a long time!
Santiam Christian
Hats off to Head Coach Dennis McLain and his entire coaching staff. SC showed promise in the first game of the season when they defeated De La Salle at Western Christian. SC would go through a series of injuries that most teams couldn’t bounce back from. SC hung in there all the way to the end but fell a game short in making it to state. They finished as the team on the outside looking in. I wish all those guys a healthy recovery and way to finish the season strong!
Riverside
The season isn’t over until its over! Riverside had an impressive league playoff run. They defeated Vale on Wednesday, League Champs Nyssa on Friday and lost a close one to Umatilla on Saturday! Hats off to you guys and great season! Way to leave it all out there for your seniors!
Harrisburg
Harrisburg was within one game of making it to the State Tourney. They had wins over Santiam Christian (2x) and beat Pleasant Hill late in the season. These guys battle but ultimately fell short. Great season guys and way to leave out there for your seniors!
Now for the teams that made it!
Let’s start with the traveling for the road teams...
51 miles between Creswell and Sutherlin
53 miles between Yamhill- Carlton and De La Salle
58.9 miles between Rainer and OES
74 miles between Salem Academy and Pleasant Hill
100 miles between Dayton and Warrenton
272 miles between Riverdale and St Mary’s
381 miles between Cascade Christian and Umatilla
436 miles between Nyssa and Amity
Players to watch...
De La Salle
Sr. George Sadi
Jr. Ubedei McGautha
Amity
Jr. Josh Wart
Keenan Graham
Dayton
Jr. Dawson Ashley
Sr. Payton Garrison
Tyler Spink
Yamhil- Carlton
Fr. Moroni-Seeley Roberts
Fr. Malachi Roberts
Tre Richmond
Rainer
Sr. Conner Rea
Pleasant Hill
Jr. Max Smith
OES
Jr. Charles Willmot
Sr. Luca Nezhat
Riverdale
Sr. Isaac Abrams
Sr. Jackson Grimes
Salem Academy
Sr. Bennett Bos
Sr. Austin Miller
Luke Miller
Nyssa
Sr. Pedro Chavez
Sutherlin
Sr. Mason Gill
St Mary’s
Sr. Tre Foster
Cascade Christian
Jr. Dominic Lewis
Kiegen Schaan
Umatilla
Sr. Andrew Earl
Warrenton
Fr. Dawson Little
Creswell
Sr. Tyler Freeze
Sr. Ka Po
Sweet 16 Game Analysis.. ALL GAMES ARE PLAYED ON SATURDAY!
YC IS NOT YOUR AVERAGE #16 SEED! How did YC end up a 16 seed? Its because they can’t play a team from there league in the first round which includes Amity, Salem Academy or Dayton.
This game is probably the most “intriguing” game in the first round. De La Salle brings quickness and toughness on the defensive end that most guards can’t handle for an entire game. They are deep and hungry to get back to Coos Bay! YC has a no fear mentality and ready for whoever and whenever. This team is battled tested and will show no fear come Saturday. They have won four out the last five games of the season, including a win over #3 Dayton. This game can honestly go either way!
Oregon3aPredict De La Salle 68- Yamhill- Carlton 56
“If YC plays well this could be even closer. Look for this game to be very close through three quarters before De La Salle pulls away”.
This will be a great game! Earlier in the year, OES defeated Rainer at home 56-48. Since then, both teams are playing extremely well and anything can happen. OES has been an "under the radar” team all season long and has a chance to put everyone on notice with a win. OES has beaten YC, Riverdale (2x) and Umatilla. They have a no quit mentality and compete until the final buzzer sounds. Rainer is hard team to beat at home. TRUST ME I KNOW! These guys are tough, physical and can ball. Head Coach Logan Nelson has his team playing fearless and only loss one game at home this season.
Oregon3aPredict Rainer 62- OES 59
“OES won the first game at home by8. Rainer has improved a lot since that first matchup. This is a tossup and could go either way.”
This is another evenly matched game! Sutherlin defeated Creswell at home 39-36. This time the game is being played at Creswell and it could be another exciting finish. These teams are lead by some high quality seniors in Mason Gill (Sutherlin), Tyler Frieze and Kai Apo (Creswell). This is defiantly a “Must Watch” game!
Oregon3aPredicit Creswell 58 Sutherlin 53
“Should be one of the closer games in the first round. However, Creswell with the Home Court advantage should pull away late, but this should be a very good game.
Nyssa wins EOL Title by going undefeated in league play. Nyssa was upset in the first round of league playoff by Riverside and now has to travel to Amity because of it. Nyssa is a gritty team and want back down because of the hype of Amity. As of today, in my opinion, Josh Wart is co State Player of the Year! He and his squad are on a mission and will not take this game lightly. They are looking to make a statement early. EOL POY Pedro Chavez will need alot of help from his teammates to pull off the upset. I think its going to be tough but anything can happen.
Oregon3aPredicit Amity 67- Nyssa 61
“These teams played earlier in the season and it was a great game. This is expected to be a close game once again.”
The last few weeks I had Salem Academy as the #1 team in the state but the loss to Dayton moved them down to #3. This team is loaded with talent and its going to take teams A+ game to beat them. League POY Bennet Bos, Austin Miller and the rest of the squad has there eyes set on Coos Bay. They will have to go through a well coached Phill team that will be ready to compete to get there.
Oregon3aPredicit Salem Academy 60 Plesant Hill 43
“Salem Academy will just be too much."
UPSET ALERT! Riverdale is good! They can cause matchup problems for any teams and when they are at there best they can beat anyone. They lost some close games in league but don’t take them for granted. Far West League POY Tre Foster is a man child and is hard to stop. St. Marys is the “hottest” team in the state and is very capable of keeping that momentum going into Saturday. Wish I could be there to see it!
Oregon3aPredicit St Marys 74 Riverdale 63
“Should be a good one at halftime but the biggest question is if anyone can stop Tre Foster.”
Umatilla won the EOL District Title and was awarded a home game for it. Well deserved for this team because they earned it. Sr. Andrew Earl and company play really well at home and are tough to beat there. I am expecting the gym to be packed and loud. With that being said, Cascade Christian is use to these types of environments and has prepared for this moment all season. Cascade Christian is the favorites but anything can happen after a couple hundred mile bus ride.
Oregon3aPredicit Cascade Christian 60 Umatilla 55
“Cascade Christian will travel along ways, but should pull this one out. Umatilla has a great crowd so this should be a fun one.”
The drought is finally over and Warrantor is back in the State Tournament. Its been ten years since there last showing but Head Coach Nate McBride loves his team chances every single night. Warrenton plays tough defense and has some scoring threats on the offensive end to keep there team in it. Its going to take an unbelievable performance to beat dayton but this season has been filled with upsets. Dayton is in state tournament mode and its a switch some teams just have. Dayton has won 5 out of there last 6 with wins over Amity and Salem Academy. They are itching to get back to Coos Bay and is ready to go through a wall to get there.
Oregon3aPredicit Dayton 53 Warrenton 35
“Hearing rumors of Warrenton holding the ball more and keeping this a lower scoring game."
Yoda Predictions...
Riverdale 65, St. Mary's 64 (Abrams out duels Foster)
Creswell 62, Sutherlin 61
(Apo & Friese are too much for Gill)
Rainier 43, OES 42(Rea had 15 assists for the win)
CC 52, Umatilla 51(Andrew Earl drops 30 for Uma but Schaan & Lewis are too much)
Dayton 14, Warrenton 10 (Coach McBride takes the air out of the ball as Justin Morales scores all 14 of Dayton's points)
Amity 66, Nyssa 61 (Chavez drops 34 for Nyssa but Wart and Graham combine for 58 for Amity)
Salem Academy 67, P Hill 64 (Cam Haslebacher drops a 3 at the buzzer for SAC who overcomes Max Smith's 40 point game)
YC 78, Delasalle 77 ( the prophets Moroni and Malachi preach the basketball gospel to Delasalle and pull the upset as The YC full court press overwhelms them)