2A State Tournament Dynamic Duos To Watch

Ryan Svenson March 5, 2026 @ 01:50 PM

As teams make the annual pilgrimage to Pendleton for the 2A State Tournament, we take a look at some of the key duos who should play a huge role in determining who cuts down the nets on Saturday night.   Trinity Lutheran enters the state quarterfinals with maybe the best inside/outside duo of any of the 8 remaining teams. Junior point guard Chimi Gilbert leads a deep & potent Saints attack. He has the ability to score for himself, but is most effective initiating offense & getting his teammates involved. One of those teammates who just continues to get better & better is 6'7 junior post [player_tooltip player_id='2968920' first='Austin' last='Imhoff']. The big man has emerged as a true factor in the paint on both ends of the court.   Regis has cemented themselves as a regular face in eastern Oregon for the last couple of decades & this year is no different. They are lead by the senior duo of point guard [player_tooltip player_id='2575681' first='Lucas' last='Koehnke'] & senior forward Eli Silbernagel. Koehnke has the ability to knock down shots from deep, but has really grown as a play maker this season. His ability to draw attention & create for his teammates has been valuable. No one has benefitted from that attention more than the 6'4 Silbernagel, who has exploded on the scene, with several monster nights, including a 20/20 performance & another 58 point scoring game, which put his name squarely in the Oregon state record books. If Regis is to finally break through & take home the state title trophy, this duo will have to carry the load.   Undefeated Portland Christian, last year's runner ups, have state title aspirations built on the talented back court duo of junior point guard [player_tooltip player_id='2132791' first='Keylon' last='Kittleson'] & senior wing Josiah Harris Skidmore. Kittleson has done a little bit of everything to get the Royals to this point. As the level of competition improves this week, look for him to become a little more assertive in looking to create offense for himself. He's certainly capable of scoring the ball from just about anywhere on the court. The leader of the Royals' pressure defense is the explosive Harris-Skidmore. The 6'0 lefty impacts game with his ball pressure & ability to play the passing lanes. He's also a more than capable shooter & has shown a knack for scoring in transition.   These three duos have certainly separated their teams from the rest of 2A throughout the course of the season. Our guess is that whichever duo performs the best this week, will see their efforts awarded with a state title.

As teams make the annual pilgrimage to Pendleton for the 2A State Tournament, we take a look at some of the key duos who should play a huge role in determining who cuts down the nets on Saturday night.