Best of the Best – Game 2 Preview (PIL vs. Southwest)

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 2nd annual Best of the Best Tournament takes place at Reynolds High School this weekend, May 31 and June 1, as many of the state's top seniors will don the uniforms of their respective conferences and battle for league pride. All seven 6A conferences will be represented and a 5A all-star team will round out the field in what should be a very competitive two days of games.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In the second contest that will take place at 11:15am on Saturday, May 31, the PIL takes on the Southwest. Here's a look at that matchup.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The PIL - the defending Best of the Best champs - bring back another roster capable of defending their title. This year's squad, coached by Benson assistant Curtis Williams, features a player from 8 of the 9 member schools and also adds a couple of additional players with PIL roots. Grant provides three of the players with Northwest Nazarene signee [player_tooltip player_id='1624504' first='Quincy' last='Scott'] as a wing/forward, and unsigned guards [player_tooltip player_id='1910906' first='Mekhi' last='Muhammad'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2458230' first='Zhalei' last='Van'] contributing in the backcourt. Jefferson will bring the inside-outside duo of [player_tooltip player_id='1910908' first='D'Ryus' last='Dent'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1957065' first='Jehiel' last='Brown'], who are both also currently unsigned. Recent Clackamas commit [player_tooltip player_id='1963562' first='Shea' last='McKenzie'] from Franklin will provide toughness, as well Wells wing <strong>Alexander Lynch</strong>, Lincoln forward Jordan Hill, and McDaniel guard [player_tooltip player_id='1588636' first='Dylan' last='Cheek']. High scoring Air Force commit [player_tooltip player_id='1910896' first='Diggy' last='Griffin'], who played his first two years at Wells before transferring to Rosemary Anderson Prep, will make an impact as will 3A Player of the Year [player_tooltip player_id='1910897' first='Jaylen' last='Hill'] from De La Salle North down low - the future Oregon State gridiron standout is a Grant neighborhood kid who played for the Generals football team.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Southwest squad may only have one active conference player from last season, but the roster led by Willamette assistant coach Darwin Terry features a number of guys that once played in the league or are from the mid-to-southern part of the state. The one guy from the league is a good one as league Player of the Year [player_tooltip player_id='2348790' first='Nathan' last='Sheley'] from Sheldon is in the fold. The sharp-shooting wing should lead the way. He'll be joined by a host of guys with origins in the Southwest Conference, including three from Phoenix - forward [player_tooltip player_id='1496192' first='Tobias' last='Akpan'], who started his career at South Medford, and big man Lucas Wihtol and point guard [player_tooltip player_id='1735364' first='Martin' last='Ortega'], both former North Medford standouts. Another former North Medford player on the squad is [player_tooltip player_id='2448448' first='Rohan' last='Aulakh'], who was able to showcase his high level athleticism with Rosemary Anderson Prep in 2024-25. A quartet of 5A standouts are in the mix in Crater's Eli Bryant, Springfield's [player_tooltip player_id='2774845' first='Vinnie' last='Trinka'], South Albany's [player_tooltip player_id='2575663' first='Colin' last='Cordle'], and West Albany's [player_tooltip player_id='2045350' first='Owen' last='Hopkins'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2046424' first='Gavin' last='Aguilar']. All bring offensive firepower to the table - especially Cordle, who led 5A in scoring. Rounding out the roster is two-time 2A Player of the Year and Willamette commit [player_tooltip player_id='2458239' first='Gavin' last='Hall'] from Western Christian, who has proven time and time again he can effectively compete with players from higher classifications.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://www.instagram.com/p/DI__0y7zP0q/","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"instagram","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-instagram wp-block-embed-instagram"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://www.instagram.com/p/DI__0y7zP0q/ </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://www.instagram.com/p/DJkqgpKSVi1/","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"instagram","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-instagram wp-block-embed-instagram"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://www.instagram.com/p/DJkqgpKSVi1/ </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed -->