CCC Tourney/Day two: a variety of game paces, some blow out wins
Still a long day of basketball at the Capitol City Classic Hoops Event
It was a long, long day of prep basketball at Salem’s Willamette University. Big name teams from out-of-state generally had their way with the local talent, while some heated rivalry games produced some intense moments in the Capital City Classic basketball tournament.
John Paul II (TX) 99, Gresham 93: The one truly exciting game from start to finish opened up play on Saturday. The upstart Gresham Gophers hung tough with the highly regarded Cardinals of John Paul II High School, before falling in a magnificent shoot out with the Gophers running out of steam near the end.
Gresham’s Esyah Pippa-White—last season’s Mt Hood Conference player-of-the-year did most of the damage for the Gophers—as they hung tight with John Paul despite seeing a double-digit lead come and go several times during the game. He finished 18-20 from the free throw line in the physical, up-tempo game.
Pippa-White had high scoring honors for the contest with 38 points. For John Paul II, Ofri Kauf (26 points, six assists) was named the game MVP
John Paul II will now meet fellow powerhouse Modesto Christian in a 4 pm championship bracket game on Monday. Canby meets Gresham in consolation play at 10 am Monday.
Modesto Christian 77, Canby 40: The team from Modesto, California raced out to a big early lead and never looked back, trouncing 5A Canby in their opening round game on Saturday. Modesto took control early, leading the contest 21-5 at the end of the first quarter. The Crusaders outscored Canby 19-15 in the second, and led 40-20 at halftime, cruising in for the win from there.
Modesto’s Jalen Brown was named player of the game, scoring 26 points with five rebounds and six assists for the game.
Canby’s Connor Gensman had nine points to lead all Cougar scorers.
Modesto advances to the second round to square off against John Paul II (TX) at 4:00 pm Monday. Canby will meet Gresham at 10:00 am Monday in consolation bracket play.
Cascade 78, Central 57: A game that began slowly picked up the pace for the last three quarters—and became a back and forth affair for a time—before the defending Oregon 4A champion Cascade Cougars prevailed over the Central Panthers 78-57.
Spencer Horne was the player of the game with 20 points, seven rebounds and four assists. His twin, Sam Horne, had 16 points, three rebounds and four assists. But Cascade Coach Justin Amaya says it was decidedly a team win.
“Playing big is important,” said Amaya. “Our team won’t be the bigger team most nights.”
And Cascade did step up with superior defense in the game, breaking open a tight contest that stood at 7 to 5 Cougars, before a barrage of points off turnovers gave Cascade a 21-9 advantage at the end of the first quarter.
The Cascade onslaught continued in the second quarter, as Central couldn’t find any consistent offensive rhythm, and Cascade built a 40-18 lead at the half.
In the third quarter, Central came out with intensity, scoring the first ten points of the third quarter to cut the margin to just a dozen. Cascade finally got some points when Rogue Newton hit a put back lay up—which began a 7-0 run to give the momentum back to the Cougars.
It was a tough night shooting from the outside for Central. Coach Dean Sanderson’s squad finished 6-21 from outside the three-point line for the game, including 1-9 (11 percent) in the first half. Esteban Chavez topped all Central scorers with 14 points. Dom Castanon also chipped in 12 points for the Panthers, along with two rebounds and two assists.
Cascade has won both scheduled meetings between the squads, but Amaya says not to sell Central Short after their 2-2 start.
“It was a very good Central team,” said Amaya.”I think they will win their league.”
“It was a great team win.”
The Cougar’s tough opposition gets even more difficult. Cascade (5-0) will face fellow unbeaten St. John Bosco on Monday at 8:30 pm in the championship bracket. Central moves on to consolation play, facing Sprague on Monday at 2:30 pm.
Wilsonville 51, Silverton 42: Wilsonville and Silverton have been doing battle on the basketball floor in a spirited manner for years, meeting in last year’s 5A State Championship game—won by Wilsonville, 34-30. The two squads were Mid-Willamette Conference foes before Wilsonville was relocated to the Northwest Oregon Conference.
The teams had another nail biter Saturday at Willamette University, but it started slow as neither side could crack the other’s defense early. Silverton had a 9-7 lead after one period.
The second quarter provided fans with a very slightly larger bit of offense, but the defenses remained solid—and Silverton clung to a one-point lead at half, 17-16.
In the third quarter, Wilsonville tried, but could not shake Silverton. After finally passing Silverton on the scoreboard, the Wildcats extended the lead to 11 points, at 32-21 with 2 ½ minutes left. But the Foxes went on a 6-0 run to close the period, making it 32-25 through three.
In the fourth period, the Wildcats pulled away again, thanks to the efforts of senior Kallen Gutridge. He hit back to back threes, including an “and one” to put seven points up on the board. Two more field goals followed, and Wilsonville led it 41-32 midway through the final period. Silverton would not any closer than six the rest of the way. The Wildcats prevailed 51-42.
Gutridge was named player of the game, after scoring 21 points. Kyle Counts added 11 points for Wilsonville, while Maxim Wu recorded 10. Silverton’s Evan Good was the only Silverton player in double-digits with 16 points.
The win was also a milestone for Wilsonville coach Jack Roche, who recorded his 500th career victory.
Wilsonville moves on to round two of the championship bracket—facing defending tournament champion West Salem at 5:30 pm on Monday. Silverton drops into consolation play. The Foxes will meet Regis at 1:00 pm.
St. John Bosco 74, Sprague 33: The hometown Sprague Olympians braced themselves for what was expected to be their toughest competition of the entire season—and it was a difficult night as they battled against the big and agile players from St. John Bosco of Bellflower, CA.
Early, Sprague made a game of it, trailing 15-11 at the end of the first quarter, and 34-20 at the half.
But in the third quarter, the Braves put intense defensive heat on the Olys. Both a full court press and a trapping half-court defense did the job in the period—when SJB outscored Sprague 33-7 to move the Braves’ advantage to 67-27 going into the final quarter.
In the fourth, the Braves were content to back off the intense defense, but still contested every Sprague shot to the end, outscoring the Olys 7-6 in the final frame.
Sprague recorded its fourth loss against just two wins this current season. Junior Nathan Tesfu topped Sprague team scoring with 8 points, No other Sprague player had more than four.
St. John Bosco’s 6-3 shooting guard Luke Jackson was named the game’s MVP. He scored 22 points, added seven assists, and two rebounds for the Braves.
SJB advances to round two of the championship bracket. They will meet Cascade of Turner in the 8:30 pm contest on Monday. Sprague will meet Central in a 1:30 pm consolation game.
Note: there were no games played on Sunday. Players had the opportunity to tour the Nike Headquarters in Beaverton. Boys tournament play resumes Monday, and the girls tournament at Corban University starts up Monday as well.