Day 1 Recap: Oregon 6A State Tournament
Photo Credits: The Oregonian
As the Oregon 6A state tournament wraps up Day 1, we take a look at some of the interesting stories, top performances from some of the tournaments stars, as well as some key outputs from some unexpected players.
Top Stories
- No one has ever questioned West Linn’s ability to score points as a team. The state’s highest scoring team coming into the state tournament, put on an offensive exhibition against an over matched North Medford squad. The Lions started out with a 21 point 1st quarter and then exploded for 34 points in the second frame. They would slow down a little after halftime, but still ended up setting a state tournament single game record with 89 points. Leading the way were senior guards Braden Olsen and Rodney Hounshell with 20 points to go along with 17 points on 7-7 shooting by 6’9 senior forward Khalid Thomas.
- Fans showing up to the Chiles Center looking for close games and buzzer beaters went home disappointed. All four games were decided by at least 14 points and one could argue that the final three games of the day were over at the half. For the first time since the OSAA implemented the computer ranking system in 2011, the semifinals will feature the top 4 seeds. If the idea is to get the best teams playing each other as deep in the tournament as possible, the system certainly worked to perfection this season.
- If you want to find the one statistic that the winning teams performed at a significantly better rate than the losing team, check out 3 point field goal percentage. The four losing teams shot a combined 12-53 (23%) from deep, while the winning teams shot a little better than 39% from three, making a total of 33 of 84 attempts. A lot of factors come into play when evaluating those percentages, but modern basketball almost always requires successful teams to shoot the ball well from beyond the arc.
STARS
A lot of the big names and highly ranked players lived up to their billing in the quarterfinal round of games Wednesday. Our look at three of the best individual performances:
- No player stood out more on the big stage than senior point guard Elijah Gonzalez of Clackamas. The electric 5’9 Portland State commit gave the West Salem defense fits on his way to a 31 point, 8 rebound, 8 assist performance. His ability to control the tempo and pace of the game and get into the paint at will are going to be necessary if the Cavs are to get past West Linn in the semifinals.
- A year ago as a sophomore playing for Tigard, Jacob Estep was primarily a spot up shooter. A year later he has matured physically and now possess a much more rounded game that has pushed his new team, Beaverton, to heights they haven’t reach in over a dozen years. Estepp was the best player on the floor against Westview, finishing the night with 22 points and 7 rebound, as well as playing a big part of the Beavers defense which held the Wildcats to a 31% shooting night.
- West Linn had a historic offensive performance against North Medford and leading the way for the Lions was point guard Braden Olsen. The 6’0 senior, playing in his fourth state tournament set the pace for West Linn, scoring 20 points on 8 of 10 shooting, dishing out 7 assists, and grabbing 4 steals.
SLEEPERS
Every year, someone steps up at the state tournament and turns in an unexpected performance to help their team. Here are three “unsung” players who played big in Wednesday’s quarterfinal round:
- Despite obvious athletic ability and recruiting interest of his own, West Linn senior guard Rodney Hounshell has been somewhat over shadowed this season by some higher profile teammates. He had a break out performance for the Lions in their victory over North Medford, scoring 20 points including 4 of 6 from behind the three point line. His aggressive play on both ends of the floor helped West Linn shake off a slow start to cruise to a 30 point victory.
- Usually by this stage of the game, it’s the starters that log the majority of the minutes. Wednesday, senior wing played Jamie Sweatman played big minutes and a big role in Beaverton’s win over their Metro league rival. The 6’4 Sweatman logged 26 minutes (the most of any non starter all day) and chipped in a solid 7 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 assists, as well as playing solid defense on a variety of Westview players.
- Grant seemed to run out of gas in their upset bid of #1 ranked Jefferson, but unsung junior wing Damon Hickok came up with a big performance for the Generals. Hickok contributed 14 points and 8 rebounds and displayed a tenacity and athleticism that should bode well for 6’2 wing in the future.