2020 Les Schwab Invitational “The Eight” Starts Today

The Les Schwab Invitational has long been a hoops holiday staple in Oregon and once again this year, there will be some additional high quality basketball action with “The Eight”, a separate day tournament that starts today at Liberty High School. Six top Oregon teams and two talented out-of-state squads will battle it out the next three days for the championship on Saturday at 7:30 pm.

Three different classes in Oregon will be represented at The Eight. Representing 6A will be Sandy, Sherwood, Sunset, and Tigard. Of these teams, Tigard enters the tournament with the best record at 6-1. The Tigers are led by star two-sport star Drew Carter. Sandy is currently at 6-2 and the Pioneers are paced by high-scoring guard Pierce Roeder. Sherwood has gotten off to a bit of a slow start but have done so without big man Blake Jensen. The OIT commit should be back for the tournament alongside fellow future Hustiln' Owl, Jamison Guerra. And Sunset will bring its perimeter attack to The Eight, led by sharp-shooting Braeden Sato.

Representing 3A is De La Salle North, the two-time defending champions in that class. The #1 ranked Knights are coming off a rough trip up north to the Lynden (WA) Christmas Classic but are ready to make amends in The Eight. Electric guard George Sadi will lead the charge the next three days. Representing 2A is defending state champ Western Christian who is one of the last undefeated teams in the state at any level. The Pioneers are led by seniors Payton Richardson - a Seattle Pacific signee - and Alex Nicoli, and will employ their full court pressure on defense. Western Christian has not only taken on larger schools so far this season and beaten them all - they've done so in impression fashion. It will be interesting to see how they match up in The Eight.

The two out-of-state teams will be Mt. Spokane out of Washington, and Pacifica Christian out of Newport Beach, California. Pacifica Christian, who made it to the finals of The Eight last season, is once again led by senior forward Judah Brown, who has signed with St. Mary's. His running mate is talented junior guard Houston Malette, who has garnered plenty of Division I recruiting interest. Mt. Spokane arrives at Liberty with a 7-1 record. They are paced by junior Tyson Degenhart who has already an early commitment to Boise State.

Games for The Eight start at Liberty High School at 4:00 pm on Thursday afternoon and the full bracket can be found here.