6A State Tournament Semifinals: 10 Best
The 6A state tournament final is set. Two of the state’s most prominent big school programs since 2000 have been rivals for quite some time but Saturday’s game will be the very first time they will face off in the…
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Continue ReadingThe 6A state tournament final is set. Two of the state’s most prominent big school programs since 2000 have been rivals for quite some time but Saturday’s game will be the very first time they will face off in the championship game.
How did the teams get there? In Friday’s first semi-final, Jesuit found itself down at halftime and really struggling to find any kind of offense. But slowly and steadily the Crusaders fought back, with seniors Aiden Williams and Justin Bieker leading the way.
“In the first half, I thought we played pretty well defensively but offensively we were miserable,” said Jesuit head coach Gene Potter. “So in the second half we decided to go to our two horses (Williams and Bieker) and see what happens, we got it going, and the team play took over.”
As for Jefferson, the Demos used their size and athleticism to wear down South Salem on the boards and on defense, limiting South Salem’s star guards by shutting down their opportunities and harassing them into the tough shots that they did get.
“It certainly wasn’t easy against a very good South Salem team with two really good guards,” said Jefferson head coach Pat Strickland. “We did a good job of containing Skinny (Jaden Nielsen-Skinner) and Trey (Galbraith). We knew it was going to be a battle as they played us tough in the Les Schwab. But we won the rebound battle by like 20 and we used our grit and defense.”
Jesuit and Jefferson will meet for the very first time in a state championship game but have played each other fairly regularly over the years – including the first game of the season for both teams, a 79-75 win by Jefferson at home.
Here are the “10 Best” from the two semifinal games.
MVP: Nate Rawlins-Kibonge (2021 Jefferson)
After scoring 18 points, grabbing 19 rebounds, and blocking seven shots against Grant, what does Rawlins-Kibonge do for an encore? The 6-foot-7 sophomore scored 25 points and grabbed 16 rebounds while only missing one shot from the field, that’s what. He was simply unstoppable when he got the ball down low and was absolutely dominant on the boards. His play certainly caught the eyes of college coaches in attendance and if there was an MVP for the tournament so far, it would certainly be Rawlins-Kibonge.
Play of the game: Bunn Offensive Rebound (Jesuit vs. Lake Oswego)
With three minutes left, Jesuit had just taken the lead 39-37 and had the ball. Aiden Williams missed a three and Lake Oswego was looking to get another opportunity to reclaim an advantage when 5-foot-8 Roy Bunn – the smallest player on the floor – snuck in and grabbed the offensive rebound and got fouled. Bunn went on to hit both key free throws helping extend Jesuit’s lead to four and they never looked back.
Best offensive performance: Aiden Williams (2019 Jesuit)
Williams may not have shot lights out – he was 7-for-16 from the field and 5-for-12 from three – but the critical points in which he hit his shots were key in Jesuit’s comeback. His first cold blooded three from the right baseline at the start of the fourth quarter gave Jesuit a lead and then another deep three from the other side on the wing helped extend the Crusaders advantage. At times, Williams was the only Jesuit player able to make shots and he ended up with 20 points.
Best defensive performance – Marcus Tsohonis (2019 Jefferson)
Normally this is not a category you usually see the Washington signee listed under. But the senior guard earns the award because of the job he did in defending Nielsen-Skinner. Tsohonis asked head coach Pat Strickland for the assignment before the game and while he certainly got some help from his teammates, he helped chase Skinny around to harass him into a dismal 4-for-22 shooting night which was critical towards the Demos victory.
Best guy off the bench – Lamar Washington (2022 Jefferson)
The 6-foot-3 freshman was simply lights out against South Salem. Washington not only hit 5-for-6 from three point range, some of the shots were close to NBA range. He scored on a couple of other fast break opportunities and also pulled down four rebounds – and did this all in 23 minutes off of the bench.
Best Intangibles – Trevon Richmond (2019 Jefferson)
After coming off the bench to provide energy and passing in the first round, Richmond started against South Salem and did very much the same. The 6-foot guard is almost constantly moving and looking for open teammates. Richmond dished off five assists against only one turnover and got fouled enough on his drives to end up making 7-for-10 free throws in scoring ten points. Defensively, he helped shut down Trey Galbraith and limit his opportunities.
Best under-the-radar performance – Eric Lungu and Ryan Brown (2019 South Salem)
Normally Lungu and Brown are quiet supporting cast members for South Salem. On Friday night they ended up becoming Saxon main threats. With Jefferson focusing their defensive attention on guards Jaden Nielsen-Skinner and Trey Galbraith, Lungu and Brown really stepped up with their games. Lungu found himself open from the outside on his way to 19 points while Brown found ways to get to the basket and chipped in with 14 points and ten rebounds as the Saxons tried to hang around as long as possible.
Best underclassman – Lamar Washington (2022 Jefferson)
See above for best player off the bench. Adding fellow freshman Trejon Williams and sophomores Nate Rawlins-Kibonge and Kamron Robinson, Jefferson is well set for the future.
Best Interviewee – Matthew Levis (2020 Jesuit)
Get a chance to catch up with Levis after the game and you’ll definitely get your money’s worth. The junior guard plays with intensity on the court so it’s not surprising that he also can have intensity in the interview room. Levis responds to questions with very thoughtful and complete answers and at times he can get emotional while making his point. Don’t expect to hear generic one word sentences when you talk with him, that’s for sure!
Best aspect of the environment – The LO and Jesuit student sections
The student section from Lake Oswego – the “Army” – was pretty much full and while there weren’t as many Jesuit students in theirs, it was still a good number and one thing’s for sure, both sections had plenty of noise. Both schools also brought their bands and all of the noise provided a great high school atmosphere in the near-5,000 seat Chiles Center. There were certainly some creative chants from both schools as they went back and forth at each other all game long.