Mountainside Tournament (Friday): Top Performers
On Friday night, Mountainside hosted its first ever tournament and fans were treated to two incredibly competitive games that both needed overtime to determine the result. Bend 77, Clackamas 57 In the first game of the night, Bend made a…
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Continue ReadingOn Friday night, Mountainside hosted its first ever tournament and fans were treated to two incredibly competitive games that both needed overtime to determine the result.
Bend 77, Clackamas 57
In the first game of the night, Bend made a furious comeback in the final minute of regulation to force overtime, where in the extra frame the Lava Bears outlasted the feisty Cavaliers. Bend was down six with a minute left to go, but quickly scored eight points to take a two-point lead, only to see Cavs wing Jailen Hammer score a layup at the buzzer to tie the game. But in OT, senior guard Brock Mesarich hit some tough threes and the Lava Bears salted things away at the free throw line for the hard-earned win. Senior forward Brian Warinner led the way with 20 points and ten rebounds while Mesarich chipped in with 17.
“I’ve got a lot of seniors that have been playing together,” said Bend head coach Scott Baker. “They turned it on, got some buckets, played some defense and got their hands on some balls there at the end of regulation. I believe in them and know what they’re capable of doing and when they do what they can do, it looks good.
Oregon City 54, Mountainside 51
In the nightcap, Mountainside was looking for their first-ever home win and after three quarters, it was looking good with a eight-point, 39-31 lead. But Oregon City continued to chip away, getting big buckets from senior forward Erich Nova and tough defensive stops to force overtime. In the extra period, junior guard Dalton Welch scored the first points and the Pioneers never looked back, grabbing a much-needed close victory. Welch led the Pioneers with 21 points – including five threes – and Nova added 12 points and ten rebounds.
“We’ve played some of the best basketball that any of my teams have played this past week,” said Oregon City head coach Aaron Newkirk. “This game was a gut check – the kids were tired and worn down, we had four games this week with practice and everything else, but we saw it through in the end.”
Here are the top performers on Friday night:
Brian Warinner (2019 Bend) – The 6-foot-7 senior tallied 20 points and did most of his scoring around the hoop, specifically the left side. However it wasn’t really his scoring where Warinner made the most impact, it was the work he did on the boards (ten rebounds) and also with his assists. Often times when he got the ball in the post, he would immediately get doubled and he was able to get the ball out to Bend’s shooters for open shots.
Brock Mesarich (2019 Bend) – The 6-foot-1 senior is a shooter – plain and simple. But Mesarich is also very well built and has the size and strength to take the ball to the basket too. His focus was on hitting the three on Friday night though and was his clutch shooting that helped bring the Lava Bears back in the final minute and in overtime.
Jailen Hammer (2019 Clackamas) – Interestingly enough, Hammer only played the second and forth quarters before overtime. But when the 5-foot-11 senior was in the game, he definitely made an impact with his high octane motor and physicality for a guard. Hammer converted wild drives to the hoop – including the one that put the game to overtime – but also stepped back and hit some threes. Hammer did lose his cool in overtime with a technical foul but ended up with 16 points.
Dalton Welch (2020 Oregon City) – Welch definitely has the ability to shoot the three as he canned five treys in nine attempts. But the 6-foot wing also showed that he could create a little off the dribble as he also scored three twos as well. Especially considering his teammates were off shooting from the outside, it was Welch’s accuracy from long range that helped keep Oregon City in the game in order to make a run at the end.
Erich Nova (2019 Oregon City) – At 6-foot-4, Nova is definitely undersized for a post player but his athleticism and willingness to work hard help make up for the deficiency in raw height. The senior got into a little bit of foul trouble early but really came alive in the second half and made some tough buckets against the taller Andrew Ingalls inside.
Andre Best (2020 Oregon City) – After hitting the game-opening three, Best struggled with his outside shooting by missing his next seven shots. But the 5-foot-11 junior adjusted and took the ball inside, converting his next three buckets on runners in the lane. Best makes the most impact on defense though and a big charge he took late in regulation helped keep Mountainside at bay and keeping the Pioneers alive into overtime.
Andrew Ingalls (2020 Mountainside) – The last time we saw Ingalls play at the Franklin tournament, he really didn’t get many touches and found himself on the bench for long stretches of time. Against Oregon City, the 6-foot-7 junior essentially played the entire game – and he was incredibly effective. Ingalls was scoring on everything around the basket and was extremely active on the boards – in fact we are willing to guess the 20 rebounds is a school record. He ended up with 21 points on 10-for-13 shooting but it’s likely he was gassed at the end, as evidenced by the two free throws he missed in overtime.
Nzube Mekkam (2020 Mountainside) – Mekkam also played the majority of the game. The 6-foot-1 junior didn’t quite have the long-range shooting going, but he made some tough drives to the basket and scored on a number of one-handed floaters. He really helped out on the glass with eight boards and he did a credible job on Andre Best on defense.