10 Best: West Salem at Sprague
Trailing by two with five minutes remaining, Sprague went on a 13-1 run to defeat Greater Valley Conference rival West Salem 66-53 Tuesday night. A rocking crowd at Sprague witnessed a matchup between two 6A player of the year contenders: West Salem’s Kyle Greeley and Sprague’s Teagan Quitoriano. Sprague improved to 10-2 and 5-0 in the GVC, as West Salem fell to 8-5 (3-2). Here’s what stood out.
(Pictured: Teagan Quitoriano is interviewed after his big game.)
MVP: Teagan Quitoriano, Sprague senior
The 6-foot-7 beast would not be denied. Quitoriano finished with 25 points and 10 rebounds as he owned the paint. Said West Salem coach Travis Myers: “We don’t have a matchup for Teagan. There is no one on our roster can guard him.” He scored the first bucket of the game, hit a three and then just generally dominated. The Titans had no answer for Quitoriano.
Best Defensive Performance: Jailen Hammer, Sprague junior
Hammer, a terrific football player and athlete, had the tough task of guarding Greeley, but he was up for it. He bothered Greeley constantly and made sure he couldn’t get too comfortable or get into a rhythm from the floor. Typically a knockdown shooter, Greeley was short on most of his jump shot attempts and finished without a three point make. Hammer played well offensively, putting up 16 points.
Best Offensive Quarter: Kyle Greeley, West Salem senior
Greeley was limited by Hammer’s defense, as well as Sprague’s 1-3-1 half court zone. But in the third quarter, he figured out a way to get some points up: at the free throw line. Greeley scored 11 of his 17 points during that frame, shooting 5 of 6 from the line. It’s not uncommon for Greeley to score 30 or more points, but that wasn’t in the cards on Tuesday.
Play of the game: Perry Vanhouten, Sprague senior
Leading 57-52, Sprague’s Quitoriano blocked Greeley on back-to-back possessions, but the game wasn’t quite out of reach yet. Vanhouten changed that. His corner three with 2:50 remaining gave Sprague a comfortable eight-point lead and incited the crowd more than any other play all night.
Tallest guard: Tyke Thompson, West Salem senior
There’s nothing small about this Tyke. A 6-foot-7 guard, Thompson is all legs, arms, and three-pointers. He notched three treys and finished with 13 points, often dictating the offense. This season, he’s been a reliable second option behind Greeley.
Best guy off the bench: Kolby Cooper, West Salem senior
Cooper was not terrific on offense (1 of 5 from three), but he played stout defense on Quitoriano and others and rebounded well. Plus, at the end of the third quarter, he registered two steals.
Best underclassman: Kobe Withers, Sprague sophomore
Calm and controlled, Withers knows his role as point guard. In his second year starting, he takes care of the ball, starts the offense and makes few mistakes. He didn’t look to shoot much, but finished with six points on two three-pointers. His second trey came in the fourth quarter and gave Sprague a 55-52 lead, which they would not relinquish.
Best under-the-radar performance: Mason Lomax, Sprague sophomore
Neither team went deep into their bench and Lomax was about as far as Sprague coach Steve Masten wanted to go. A 5-foot-11 combo guard, Lomax played solid minutes and finished with four points–two of which came in the fourth quarter.
Best intangibles: Tyler Miller, West Salem senior
Miller, like Kolby Cooper and Zach Robertson, was scrappy for the Titans, fighting for rebounds and playing good defense. He even ended up with 9 points.
Biggest takeaway: Sprague is for real
After dropping their season opener to 5A Thurston, the Olympians have won 10 straight games against Oregon opponents (their only loss in that stretch is to California’s Mater Dei). With a new head coach and without Kaiden Flanigan, last year’s point guard who graduated, there were some question marks surrounding Sprague. But they’re looking strong. After narrowly missing a trip to the Chiles Center, they very well could head there this year.
(For more prep hoops coverage, follow Hayes Gardner on Twitter @HayesGardner)