Week Two – Top Performers (Class of 2024)

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Week Two of the season is in the books and we had the opportunity to catch some action every day - Barlow over Wells on Monday, Lincoln over Mountainside on Tuesday, Cleveland over Sherwood on Wednesday, Westside Christian over Dayton on Thursday, Lincoln over Beaverton on Friday, and then on Saturday action from two separate tournaments. The Mountainside Tournament (Oregon City over West Salem, Camas over Mountainside) and the Forest Grove Tournament (North Salem over Aloha, Forest Grove over Lakeridge).</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>From all that action, here's a look a the top performers from the junior Class of 2024 this past week:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1110573' first='Jackson' last='Owens'] (2024 Cleveland)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Owens led the Warriors in scoring, excelling at getting to the right places where he could easily receive the ball and quickly convert buckets with his one-handed jumper. The 6-foot-4 junior was especially good in the mid-range on the baseline and did a good job running the floor and finishing in transition. At the end of the night against Sherwood, he had a team-high 17 points.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Ethan Eckerd (2024 Sherwood)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>After a dismal first half against Cleveland - Sherwood usually scores more than 8 points in a quarter and they only had that many at halftime - the Bowmen made a comeback with Eckerd playing a big factor. The 6-foot-4 guard started to light things up from the outside with his jumper and was also effective in taking it to the basket. On one play, he saw an opening where he drove into the lane and threw down a one-handed flush. 14 points on the night.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1197477' first='Max' last='Elmgren'] (2024 Beaverton)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>After a relatively slow start in the first half against Lincoln, Elmgren lit it up after the break. The 6-foot guard got loose on the perimeter and started canning threes left and right, ending up hitting six triples in the half. He nailed them off the catch but also coming off of screens or even pulling up on the break. Although the Beavers came up short in their comeback, in the end, Elmgren wound up with a team-high 26 points.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1110571' first='Quinn' last='Haveman'] (2024 Mountainside)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>After a 24-point performance in their first game of the Mountainside Tournament against West Salem, Haveman followed that up with another 24 points against Camas. So much of the 6-foot-2 junior's play comes from simply playing hard as he was aggressive getting to the basket and really hitting the offensive glass for putbacks, sometimes with the and-one. Defensively, he was tremendous on the ball as well.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1110739' first='Deon' last='Best'] (2024 Oregon City)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Best didn't have the biggest offensive numbers in the Pioneers' third-place game win over West Salem, but he was the team's MVP with his toughness and steadiness at the point. He took good care of the basketball, made solid decisions, was physical on defense, and kept the offense moving along winding up with 6 assists. Best has also shown an improved jumper from last year, hitting a couple of threes and finishing with 8 points.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1565735' first='Jackson' last='Leach'] (2024 West Salem)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Leach is as quick as they come and he was able to get into the lane when he wanted to against Oregon City. A true point guard, he directed the offense both with his play and vocally, and in the first half his penetration moves got him to the free throw line where he converted 5-for-6. He finished the game with 13 points and a team-high 4 assists.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1232311' first='Jacey' last='Canalin'] (2024 Wells)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A lot of the offensive load will be placed on the shoulders of Canalin this season, and against Barlow it was extra tough as they often double-teamed him the second he crossed over half-court forcing him to give up the basketball. Nevertheless, he persevered and was able to get free for some jumpers and quick drives to the basket, finishing with 12 points and 4 assists. Always an opportunist on the defensive end, he also grabbed 3 steals.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->