Central Valley Conference Hoops heading down the stretch
February full of key CVC boys games, including unbeaten West Salem at one-loss Sprague
Gymnasiums in the Salem-Keizer School District will be rockin’ for the next month—as prep teams clash with the 6A post-season on the line.
For the boys’ teams, any contest involving CVC unbeaten West Salem will be the hot ticket. It begins Friday as the Titans visiting once-beaten Sprague. The West boys—defeated Sprague by ten in January after having the initial match-up delayed by an ice storm. The Titans know they are playing with a target on their backs. The current top-two CVC teams will also square off in the league finale’ in late February before moving on to the 6A playoffs.
West coach Travis Myers is straight forward about how he coaches the team this time of year.
“We know we are gonna get every team’s best shot, and can’t take any game for granted.”
West helped raise the conference’s entire profile following a solid five-point home win Tuesday over fourth-rated Liberty High of Hillsboro. The Titans (16-2) boosted their power ranking from 14th to ninth, and other CVC teams moved up as many as ten spots.
#9 West hopes to duplicate its successful 66-56 win over Sprague on January 20th. Titan post Philip Goodrich anchored the West offense that evening with an 18 point, 13 rebound performance. All-league performers Jackson Leach (16.2 ppg) and Connor Oertel (14.3 ppg) contributed 13 points each to bolster the offensive effort for West, which owns the lone unbeaten conference record in the CVC.
Titan sophomore Demari Hall (10.6 ppg) chiseled out 22 points in the Liberty victory and has become a consistent force on the boards. His steady improvement, and the consistent outside shooting of Matthew Luke (9.1) make West Salem a formidable foe for anyone—as Liberty found out.
Despite the ten-point loss at the hands of West, the Sprague Olympians (6-1) are no pushover. Junior guard Jarod Stanley has upped his offensive output to about 17 points per contest, featuring both three-point shooting and big dunk capability. He has been joined by the Long brothers. Senior Grayson and junior Braxton both were averaging about ten points a contest drained off until a dip in those numbers recently. And transfer Greg Comer (10 ppg) brings jump shooting athleticism—which he put on display with seven treys against South Salem last week.
An improving Sprague bench is also making for a stronger, consistent output in recent weeks. The Olympians pounded South Salem by 25 points because of their growth over the course of the season.
Olys coach Jordan Graneto—who had said at the start of league play that the CVC is as evenly matched as it has ever been, pulls no punches when it comes to the output needed by his players in the coming weeks.
“We are preparing for every game one game at a time and constantly trying to continue to improve.”
The remaining boys dark horse not to be overlooked is McNary. Coach Ryan Kirch’s team keeps games close. But three conference losses in mid-January by a total of six points has hurt the Celts playoff positioning. Rest assured that any CVC opponent taking them lightly could be setting themselves up for a stunning defeat, as the Celts sport the offensive prowess of Steven Adams (16.3 ppg), Anthony Fuentes (10.9 ppg), and physical post Ethan Wollangk (9.3). At the very least, the Celts will serve as the spoiler for the stretch run of CVC boys games.
It is why West coach Travis Myers says his players can’t afford to look down the schedule.
“Our team is focused on one game. The next one.”
CVC GIRLS
Defending conference champion West Salem lost its two top seniors from last year, but has remained in the playoff hunt—tied with McNary atop the CVC girls standings. McNary principal Katie Singleton has a solid crew of young but talented players. The three sophomores—Addy Mendez, Chica Casas, and Emma Zuniga are reliable double digit scorers. Zuniga frequently records over twenty points a night.
West Salem finally reached the final eight tournament last year in Portland. Repeating that feat will take a little more productivity in 2024.
Still, Coach Singleton says in order for her team to get better in the closing week, they must focus on one game at a time.
“The girls are determined! They are a great group and have the potential to do big things this year.”
McNary is an up-and-coming team—in their second year under head coach and former South Salem player Mike McShane. They made their mark this season with a then-upset over West 74-67 on January 19th. The energetic Celts are led by sophomore Aubrey Adams, and seniors Avery Buss, Ava Rubio, and Aspynn Westby—all of whom are averaging about ten points a game, but can explode for twenty points or more.
South Salem is the third CVC team with strong playoff aspirations. The Saxons’ long-time coach Adrian Lewis—has a 16-point victory over McNary in game four of the CVC schedule. But the Saxons still haven’t found a way to triumph over the Titans. Coach Lewis says the league schedule—which involves three games with each conference rival—requires some creative thinking.
“Playing the same team three times is hard, so adding in wrinkles to our offense, inbounds or defense to keep the other team guessing is always on my mind,” admits Coach Lewis.
South has a solid corps of players—led by point guard Izzy Flores and Sadie Paterson in the backcourt, and inside players Emma Burlison and Brook Stevens and transfer Brezlyn Schwalm.
And like many other local hoops coaches have stated, Lewis wants his players to remember one thing.
“We need to take it one game at a time.”
Lots of competitive match ups, many large crowds, great volunteers who help us get on the air.
It is the tail end of the 2024 edition of Central Valley Conference basketball.
Buckle-up everyone. It’s gonna be a fun, but bumpy ride.
One game at a time.
Thanks Mark for keeping me in the know 😀