6A Playoffs – Lake Oswego 79, Franklin 41: Five Takeaways

<p>Last year, Lake Oswego missed out on the state tournament in excruciating fashion. That memory isn't lost on head coach Marshall Cho and the players and it's clear they are honed in on not letting history repeat itself. That was abundantly clear on Tuesday night in their first round playoff game against Franklin as the Lakers burst out of the gates on fire on both ends of the floor and cruised their way to a 79-41 victory.</p> <p>The game was a mismatch early as Lake Oswego created turnovers off their press, getting easy buckets both in transition and off great ball movement in the half-court. Meanwhile, Franklin simply couldn't find any offense themselves. The Lakers led 25-5 after one quarter and 45-12 at the half, and after a bit of a sluggish start to the third quarter tightened things up and led by as many as 47 points before letting the reserves finish out the game.</p> <p>"I was pleased with our focus," said Lake Oswego head coach Marshall Cho. "We've got some work to do still and I keep reminding these guys that they can get better in the next few days until Friday, so that's what we're shooting for."</p> <p>Lake Oswego faces Westview in the second round for the right to go to state at home on Friday night.</p> <p><strong>Lake Oswego is Focused on the Goal</strong></p> <p>The pain of last year's loss right before the state tournament still stings for Lake Oswego. So playing with a sense of urgency, the Lakers immediately got off to a fast start. Point guard <strong>Wayne McKinney</strong> was cutting to the basket, <strong>Casey Graver</strong> was knocking down threes, and <strong>Sam Abere</strong> was locking down on defense and finding teammates for open scores. Before anyone knew it, the Lakers had rushed out to a 25-5 lead and even though it could have been cruise control from that point, LO continued to press on.</p> <p><strong>Angle Contributes More than Just Shooting</strong></p> <p>Whether it's the increased defensive attention or something else, <strong>Josh Angle</strong> just hasn't quite had the eagle eye all the time from the outside this year. But as he's done all year long, the senior guard has found ways to contribute in other areas of the game. We've talked about his increased rebounding but in this game, he was also contributing with his passing and also his defense. Angle ended up finding his outside shot a little later on and he ended up with an all-around game of 14 points, four rebounds, three assists, and four steals with zero turnovers.</p> <p><strong>Lakers Bench as Deep as There is in the State</strong></p> <p>One of Lake Oswego's strengths is their depth and it couldn't have been more evident than against Franklin. Granted it's easy to empty one's bench when they are up by 40+ points (which the Lakers were in the second half) but when the reserves were in, they maintained the pace and defensive pressure. <strong>Casey Graver</strong> as usual was key from three but also had some big offensive rebounds and putbacks and finished with a bench-high 13 points. In all, ten players scored for Lake Oswego with four in double figures and the team shot a combined 56 percent from the field.</p> <p><strong>Salton a Super Soph to Watch</strong></p> <p>One of the biggest contributors off the bench was sophomore <strong>Trace Salton</strong>. He was out early on in the season, but has been back for the last several games and has immediately made an impact. At 6-foot-5, he has good size, a nice looking mid-range shot, and the ability to score near the bucket. Salton ended up playing almost 17 minutes and tallied 12 points, six rebounds, and two assists. We caught up with Salton after the game and will have a spotlight posted soon.</p> <p><strong>A Great Season for Franklin</strong></p> <p>While they were clearly overmatched against Lake Oswego, the loss should take nothing away from the season Franklin had. After winning only two games a year ago, head coach Scott Aker helped build a turnaround that led to a third place finish in the always-tough PIL and a post-season berth - something nobody would have dreamed of last season. <strong>Taylor Pomeroy</strong> put together a great senior season that resulted in a First Team All-League mention and there are younger players like junior big man <strong>Tucker Pellicci</strong> and junior wing <strong>Cayden Wagner</strong> that show promise for the future.</p> <p>"We had a good year and we were happy to make the playoffs," said Franklin head coach Scott Aker. "We now know how to make the playoffs but we want to make the next step. But it was a great learning experience as we hadn't been there in so long."</p>