West Linn at Lake Oswego: Five Takeaways
In a matchup of the top two TRL teams, Lake Oswego defeated West Linn convincingly at home, 57-38, on Tuesday to improve to 15-5 and 9-1 in the TRL, while West Linn fell to 12-8 (7-3). The Lakers jumped out to an 8-0 lead and then an 18-6 one, and although West Linn cut it to 4 points in the third quarter, Lake Oswego ended up running away with it by the end. Here’s what stood out:
Marvelous McKinney
Lake Oswego’s star freshman, Wayne McKinney III, stole the show. He entered the game at the 4:25 mark of the first quarter and made an immediate impact, sinking four contested lefty layups in the first half. He’s not left-handed. He finished with a career high of 18 points, leading all scorers, on 8 of 12 shooting. He knocked down both three-point attempts. The freshman is a blur with the ball and is certainly one of the top members of the Class of 2021 in the state. “Nobody can stop him, really, off the dribble. He’s one great player,” LO senior J.R. Schilling said. Starting guard Josh Angle added 15 points, as well.
The Lake Oswego seniors
Like the Los Angeles Lakers, the Lake Oswego Lakers are notably young. In their eight-man rotation, only two seniors see the floor, but they’re two good ones in Shawn Elliott and J.R. Schilling. The former tallied 9 points and 10 rebounds. He plays an essential role for the Lakers as their top interior presence. Schilling had an uncharacteristically low scoring game with only four points, but LO coach Marshall Cho was impressed with his defense and leadership. He guarded West Linn’s Jalen Thompson and held him to 2 points on 1 of 8 shooting. Thompson almost had a nice breakaway dunk, but it somehow popped out from the rim.
Beaver battle
The most intriguing matchup on Tuesday may have been between Shawn Elliott and West Linn’s Keishon Dawkins. The two are future football players for the Oregon State Beavers, with Elliott committing on Monday. Both are strong posts and Dawkins, one of the best big men in the Portland-area, finished with only four points. Three of those points came on West Linn’s only three-pointer; they finished 1 of 12 from deep. It wasn’t his best night, as he was also called for an intentional foul on Brandon Roberts.
The 6-foot, position-less wonder
Lake Oswego starter Brandon Roberts, a junior, is listed as a guard/forward and that’s a pretty good description of him. He’s 6-foot-0, but isn’t a primary ballhandler and isn’t a spot-up shooter. He simply does the right things and plays good defense. On Tuesday, he finished with 9 points and always popped up in the right places. He’s one of those gritty players who is almost a puzzle. How is he able to affect the game so positively?
The Michelon Man
West Linn seemed on their way to a blowout loss when Max Michelon turned the game around, momentarily. Trailing 18-6 after the first quarter, West Linn coach Tyler Toney started the second period with one starter (Thompson and four bench players: Michelon, Andre Best, Ahmir McGee and Damiko Tidmore). Michelon scored 8 points in the frame to cut into LO’s lead. The 6-foot-5 wing finished with 10 points on 7 shots.
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