LSI Day Three: Top Performers (Session 6)
The winners bracket of the Les Schwab Invitational featured four in-state teams on Saturday night. While Jefferson was the only one that competed in the semifinals, Central Catholic, Churchill, and Crater all competed in games as well. Central Catholic first…
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Continue ReadingThe winners bracket of the Les Schwab Invitational featured four in-state teams on Saturday night. While Jefferson was the only one that competed in the semifinals, Central Catholic, Churchill, and Crater all competed in games as well. Central Catholic first defeated Churchill, 59-40, in the only game featuring both Oregon teams. Crater fell to Bishop Gorman, 67-58, and then Jefferson fell to Eastside Catholic, 58-39.
In Eastside Catholic’s win, they rushed out to a 10-0 lead and Jefferson simply never recovered from the early blow.
“They just jumped on us with some physicality and we didn’t respond very well,” said Jefferson head coach Pat Strickland. “We got hit and it never stopped. We showed a little more fight (in the second half) but we didn’t show enough fight. They just dominated us in every facet of the game.”
Top Performers
Nathan Bittle (2021 Crater) – Stats: 28 points, 13 rebounds, 2 blocks
Bittle bounced back from a rough outing against Jefferson and found things a bit easier against Bishop Gorman. The Gaels played the 6-foot-11 post straight up, which allowed him some room to create off the dribble and finish at the rim. Bittle eschewed the three for most of the night and the results were a good shooting night (11-for-17). He has been struggling from the free throw line for some reason but in the end, he put together a rock-solid performance that helped keep Crater in the game.
Kruger Edwards (2020 Crater) – Stats: 18 pts, 6 reb
It was the second straight good outing for Edwards, who seems to be developing as a player before our eyes. The 6-foot-6 forward was aggressive getting to the basket and finishing plays, including a couple of rim-rattling two-hand slams. Edwards finished through contact and when he was fouled, converted at the line. We caught up with Edwards after the game and will have an update posted soon.
DeRay Seamster (2020 Central Catholic) – Stats: 19 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals
Central Catholic is deep but it appears that Seamster is emerging as the Rams leading scorer. When it comes to getting buckets, the 6-foot-2 senior has been the man. His focus seemed to be more on getting to the basket especially in transition, finishing often with a little floater in the lane. He was active with his man-to-man defense and was able to help force Churchill into several turnovers.
Isaiah Amato (2020 Central Catholic) – Stats: 10 points, 8 rebounds, five assists
Amato had the best all-around game against Churchill for the Rams. He was rock solid at the point, taking good care of the ball, and finding open lanes to attack the basket and dish the ball out to guys for scoring opportunities. He used his athleticism to clean the glass on the defensive end and provided some solid defense inside whenever the Lancers tried to go inside against him.
Marquis “Mookie” Cook (2023 Jefferson) – Stats: 16 points, 4 rebounds
On a night that the Demos will want to forget, Cook was one of the few that was able to put some points on the board. While it was mainly at the basket – the freshman’s perimeter shot wasn’t falling as he was 0-for-7 from three – Cook showed good motor on both ends and really competed with Eastside Catholic’s athletic wings. There are going to be games this season when someone needs to demand the ball to get buckets and it seems like Cook will be the best candidate to do that.
Nate Rawlins-Kibonge (2021 Jefferson) – Stats: 8 rebounds, 5 blocked shots
Rawlins-Kibonge is normally not going to be a high scorer. But what the 6-foot-7 forward/post does is do the dirty work and despite how much the offense struggled, the junior could be counted upon to hit the boards and defend the rim. Some of his blocks were of the spectacular variety and he didn’t just swat them into the stands, he used the backcourt to help keep the ball in play.
Brian Goracke (2020 Churchill) – Stats: 13 points, 6 rebounds
It wasn’t the greatest shooting day for Goracke – it really wasn’t for anyone on Churchill – but he was aggressive getting to the basket and getting fouled and was able to convert 6-for-8 from the free throw line. The 6-foot-5 wing used his athleticism to pull down a game-high six rebounds as well.