SALEM – Sophomore J'Kobi Nicholson hit a three-pointer with 13 seconds left to break a tie and give No. 17 Mountainside a 55-52 win at No. 16 Sprague in the first round of the 6A boys basketball playoffs Tuesday night.
Junior point guard Brayden Boe scored 27 points to lead the Mavericks (14-11), who will play at No. 1 Central Catholic in the round of 16 on Friday.
Mountainside trailed the Olympians 47-41 early in the fourth quarter but rallied to take a 50-49 lead on a layup by sophomore Eli Vizconde. Sprague pulled ahead 52-50 on a basket by junior Braxton Long, but Mavericks senior Quinn Haveman answered to tie 52-52 with one minute left.
Mountainside got a stop, then worked for the winning hoop by Nicholson.
“We've fought through adversity the whole season,” Boe said. “This game is a testament to our whole season. I mean, we got down at the beginning, but we just kept fighting through, kept fighting, and we pulled it out at the end. Team chemistry. We trust each other, and I think that was the biggest thing.”
Junior Peyton Reyes made three three-pointers and added 11 points for Mountainside. Long and junior Jarod Stanley scored 16 and 15 points, respectively, for the Olympians (16-9).
-- Jeremy McDonald
Highlights from other 6A playoff games Tuesday:
Top-seeded Central Catholic blitzed past North Medford 84-56, building a 40-20 halftime edge. Marley Zeller scored 27 points and Zamir Paschal added 15 points for the Rams. … Jackson Weiland had 28 points and five assists and Ty Dahlin added 14 points, 15 rebounds and four blocks as South Medford rolled over Cleveland 81-46. Weiland, Jed Johnson and Cole Adee each made three three-pointers for the Panthers. … Aidan Rice scored 24 points and Chance Winter added 21 points for Beaverton, which handled Grants Pass 72-53. Max Campbell added 15 points for the Beavers, who led 27-13 after one quarter. … Kai Russell scored 20 points to lead Westview to a 42-40 win at Oregon City. The Wildcats trailed 36-31 but went on a 7-0 run to take the lead, capped by a Russell basket. Gylan Payne scored 15 points for Oregon City. …
Grant got 21 points (three three-pointers) from Mekhi Muhammad in a wire-to-wire, 77-57 home victory over Roseburg. The Generals led 37-17 at half. Julian Lopez led Roseburg with 15 points. … Jesuit bolted to a 22-8 lead after one quarter and put away visiting South Eugene 73-50. Pat Kilfoil scored 22 points and Nico Rafalovich added 14 points, making three three-pointers. South Eugene got 20 points from Trey Saunders and 15 points from Levi Hawes. … Brayden Barron had 18 points and 12 rebounds in Barlow's 66-41 win over Century. Jalen Atkins scored 13 points, making three three-pointers, Mason Bierbrauer had 11 points and Cole Patrick added nine assists. Century's Jordan Johnson made three three-pointers and scored 11 points. …
Second-seeded Southridge brushed off McNary 72-34. Keenan Reckamp scored 15 points (three three-pointers) and Kaden Groenig and Alonzo Hoff added 13 points apiece. Carter Fortune collected 11 points, six rebounds, seven assists and three steals in the win. … West Linn outscored Jefferson 21-10 in the fourth quarter to knock out host Jefferson 74-62. Nick DiGuilio made six three-pointers and scored 24 points for the Lions. Gavin Gross (16 points, 10 rebounds, three blocks), Max Juhala (10 points, 10 rebounds) and freshman point guard Pat Vialva Jr. (15 points) also came through in the win. Adrian Montague led Jefferson with 21 points. …
Tyler Bradford scored 24 points as host Liberty eliminated Lakeridge 67-63. The Falcons trailed 48-42 after three quarters but opened the fourth quarter on an 18-6 run to pull ahead. … Carson Reilley scored off a no-look feed from Marcos Ramirez in the final seconds to give Sandy a 46-44 win at Sherwood. After Sherwood's Connor Parry scored a tying layup with 10 seconds left, Sandy rushed the ball up the court and Ramirez found Reilley alone under the basket. Ramirez and Jacob Brown led Sandy with 14 and 12 points, respectively. … Roosevelt cruised past David Douglas 96-59, getting plenty of production from Terrence Hill Jr. (28 points, six rebounds, three steals, four assists), Utrillo Morris (21 points, six rebounds, four steals, six assists) and Owen Nathan (18 points, seven rebounds, three blocks). Hill shot 4 of 6 from three-point range and Morris went 3 for 5. …
Matthew Luke made eight three-pointers and scored 27 points to lead West Salem past Nelson 91-74. The Titans also got 16 points from Connor Oertel and 13 points from Jackson Leach. Nelson's Braylon Gaines and Sam Lewis put up 29 and 22 points, respectively. … Two-time reigning state champion Tualatin dominated Sunset 91-64. Jaden Steppe scored 26 points – 20 in the first half – and Jemai Lake added 21 points for the Timberwolves, who led 47-29 at intermission. Kayin Turner and Jett Birdsall scored 17 points each for the Apollos. … Gresham gutted out a 75-72 home win over Lincoln. Nathaniel Gilkey scored 16 points in the win. Evan Heisler and Tanner Overby had 31 and 25 points, respectively, for the Cardinals.
-- Jerry Ulmer
