6A State Tournament: Semifinals Preview
After a day off, the semifinalists for the 6A State Tournament take center stage again at the Chiles Center in Portland in what should be two very competitive games on Friday afternoon. Here’s how we see the games breaking down.…
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Continue ReadingAfter a day off, the semifinalists for the 6A State Tournament take center stage again at the Chiles Center in Portland in what should be two very competitive games on Friday afternoon. Here’s how we see the games breaking down.
#1 Lake Oswego (23-4) vs. #4 Jesuit (21-6)
Both teams have seen enough of each other already this season as Lake Oswego won the first meeting at Jesuit on December 11, 53-51, and then the Crusaders repaid the favor in the Les Schwab Invitational, 63-57. You can be assured that the third game between the two will be just as close. Both head coaches Marshall Cho and Gene Potter have no doubt been in total game prep mode since their first games ended on Wednesday and hours of game film have likely been consumed. Both teams have gotten to this point with a little bit of luck involved as each has scraped by in a couple of games late in the year, but both ran roughshod over their opponents in the first round at state.
Who has the edge? There’s no question that Lake Oswego has it in terms of depth. Led by guards Josh Angle and Wayne McKinney, Cho will go three to four deep on his bench and sophomore Trace Salton in particular will play a huge role. Jesuit meanwhile will keep its rotation tight and will lean heavily on seniors Justin Bieker and Aiden Williams, although Will Sheaffer made a statement that he’s not to be forgotten in their last game by hitting for 22 points. One thing you can certainly expect from this matchup is that it will be an extreme chess matchup with the likelihood of changing defenses and substitutions to exploit matchups going on all game long. In the end though, we think that LO will have the upper hand because of their depth and will advance to the finals on Saturday. Prediction: Lake Oswego
#2 South Salem (23-4) vs. #3 Jefferson (23-5)
The second semi-final is another one where the teams have met already this season, this time only once in their Les Schwab Invitational opener where Jefferson prevailed, 70-65. In that game, Jefferson caught fire in the second half to overcome a brilliant performance from Jaden Nielsen-Skinner to pull out the victory. Considered by some to be the far and away top team at the beginning of the season, the Demos are now seemingly playing to their potential and their 19-point dispatch of Grant in the first game at state was one of their best performances of the season. South Salem’s game against Tigard was a little closer but the Saxons were always fully in control and their execution of their defensive game plan worked to near perfection.
If there’s one thing that’s clear in this rematch – and it was clear the first time – Jefferson has the obvious size edge. Kamron Robinson and Nate Rawlins-Kibonge simply ate Grant alive down low both offensively, defensively, and on the boards and it’s hard to not see that happening again. Marcus Tsohonis has the size edge on South Salem’s guards and along with Lake Oswego, the Demos have one of the deepest teams in the state, led by the “Microwave”, Keylin Vance. Don’t discount South Salem though. Skinny (Nielsen-Skinner) is a gamer and knows what he’s up against and he will unquestionably step up to the challenge. Backcourt partner in crime Trey Galbraith is certainly not scared of anybody either. But in the end, Jefferson’s advantage in size and athleticism will be too much to overcome and you can be assured that head coach Pat Strickland has a plan in place to control Skinny, much like how they did with Grant’s Aaron Deloney in the last game. Prediction: Jefferson