PORTLAND – Top-seeded Central Catholic turned up the heat on defense and throttled No. 8 Jesuit 59-33 in the quarterfinals of the OSAA/OnPoint Community Credit Union 6A boys basketball tournament Wednesday at the Chiles Center.
The Rams held the Crusaders to 27.9-percent shooting and their lowest point total since the 2013 state tournament, when they lost to Lake Oswego 52-32 in the third-place game.
“That was one of the best defensive performances,” Central Catholic coach David Blue said. “Everyone can talk about the offensive talent that we have, but just the belief on the defensive side of the ball – holding a great team like that to 33 points, ridiculous.”
Jesuit's previous low point total this season was 42.
“Defense wins games,” Rams senior Marley Zeller said. “You can be the best team in the state and miss all your shots, and you lose the game. But if you're the best defensive team, you're not going to lose.”
Junior guard Isaac Carr had 13 points, five rebounds and two steals for Central Catholic (25-3), which extended its winning streak to 19. Junior Duce Paschal had 11 points and sophomore Zamir Paschal had 11 points, five rebounds and two steals in the win.
The Rams, who won their only championship in 1994, are in the semifinals for the first time since 2015. They will play No. 5 Tualatin, the two-time reigning state champion, on Friday.
Central Catholic jumped to a 9-0 lead on Jesuit (18-9) as Carr hit two jumpers, Duce Paschal made a layup and Zamir Paschal completed a three-point play. The Rams pushed their edge to 27-13 in the second quarter on a jumper by Tony Angelo, and led 31-20 at half and 42-28 after three quarters.
It was Carr's second game back after missing nine games with a sprained ankle.
“I think it's back to 100 percent,” said Carr, who has committed to Oregon. “I think for sure we were able to get me back into the flow. We did some stuff in practice, and in the game, and I think we kind of worked it out. I think we're back now.”
Jesuit got a team-high 12 points from junior point guard Pat Kilfoil, who shot 4 of 14 from the field, including 2 of 9 from three-point range.
Central Catholic is bidding to become the first school to win big-school state titles in football and boys basketball in the same school year since Corvallis in 1983-84.
No. 5 Tualatin 62, No. 4 Barlow 46: Game story
No. 3 Roosevelt 67, No. 11 Grant 65: Senior guard Terrence Hill Jr. made a breakaway layup with 0.5 seconds left as the Roughriders (25-2) survived a late rally by the Generals (19-8) in a matchup of Portland Interscholastic League teams.
Grant trailed 50-33 midway through the third quarter but pulled even at 53-53 on a free throw by Keion James with 5:18 remaining. The Generals took a 63-61 lead on two free throws by Zhalie Van with 47 seconds left.
After Roosevelt's Utrillo Morris tied it 63-63 on a layup, Grant's Vashon Hardges made two free throws for a 65-63 lead with 25 seconds to go. The Roughriders' Syrius Owens answered with a layup to tie 65-65 with 20 seconds left.
A corner three-point attempt by Grant's Mekhi Muhammad of an inbound play missed everything with six seconds left, and Roosevelt's Owen Nathan rebounded and threw an outlet pass to half-court to a streaking Owens, who passed ahead to Hill, who beat the buzzer with the winning layup.
Morris had 23 points, nine rebounds and three steals to lead Roosevelt, which beat Grant for the third time in four meetings this season. Nathan had 18 points, eight rebounds and five steals and Chance White added 11 points.
Charlie Kapranos scored 12 points and Van and James added 11 points apiece for the Generals.
Roosevelt advances to a Friday semifinal against Beaverton. It will be the Roughriders' first appearance in the final four since 2011, when they played in 4A. They won their only title in 1949.
.No. 7 Beaverton 64, No. 2 Southridge 56: The Beavers (18-9), who lost all three previous meetings against Metro League rival Southridge this season, knocked off the league champion Skyhawks (24-4) to secure a berth in the semifinals.
Senior guard Aidan Rice scored 22 points and 6-11 senior Chance Winter had 16 points, eight rebounds and five blocks for Beaverton. The Beavers will play in the semifinals for the first time since 2017 when they meet Roosevelt on Friday.
Beaverton scored the last 14 points of the first quarter to lead 23-9. Freshman Ahmed Abalo and senior Max Campbell made three pointers and Winter had six points in the surge, including a dunk at the first-quarter buzzer.
Beaverton opened a 34-18 lead on a jumper by Abalo in the second quarter. The advantage was 52-36 midway early in the fourth quarter before Southridge began to rally.
The Skyhawks went on a 14-2 run to get within 54-50 on two free throws by Carter Fortune with 2:39 left. Rice hit a big three-pointer to make it 59-52 with 1:07 to go, and the Beavers added five free throws to close it out.
Fortune had 14 points and eight rebounds and Keenan Reckamp added 11 points, making three three-pointers, for Southridge.
Beaverton shot 53.2 percent from the field and Southridge shot 35.2 percent, including 7 for 25 from three-point range.
