After a few hiccups, Tualatin's boys basketball team is trending toward realizing its vast potential.
The No. 2 Timberwolves picked up two crucial home wins last week, stopping No. 9 West Linn 76-70 and No. 6 Oregon City 78-63 to stay in the hunt for the 6A Three Rivers League title.
“The guys came with a lot of energy,” coach Bubba Lemon said. “They tried to prepare themselves a little extra. We just knew they were big games.”
With the wins, Tualatin (16-4, 5-1) stands tied for first place with Oregon City (15-4, 5-1), ahead of West Linn (14-5, 3-2). The Timberwolves have won six in a row since losing at Oregon City 63-52.
“Our teams try to peak toward the end of the season,” Lemon said. “I think we're just getting into our groove. We've done well so far, but just the way it's molding together, you can feel it starting to get into the groove.”
Tualatin's dynamic backcourt combo of junior Jemai Lake and sophomore Pat Vialva Jr. showed the way in the wins. Lake scored 29 points against West Linn and 24 against Oregon City, and Vialva dropped 25 and 18, respectively.
The 6-foot-2 Lake and 6-0 Vialva are having outstanding seasons.
Lake is averaging 19.9 points, 4.8 assists and 2.3 steals while shooting 48.8 percent from the field, including 32.0 percent on three-pointers (33 for 103). Vialva is averaging 17.9 points, 2.1 assists and 1.4 steals and is shooting 50.9 percent from the field, 45.7 percent from behind the arc (37 for 81).
They have been steady at the free throw line, with Lake hitting 83.2 percent (89 for 107) and Vialva making 84.2 percent (32 for 38).
Lake and Vialva have developed chemistry since Vialva transferred over from West Linn, where he was a starter as a freshman.
“There's nothing that needs to be sorted out with them. They figured this thing out quick,” Lemon said. “Junior came in saying, 'Hey, this is Jemai's team, I'm going to be a supportive role.' And Jemai is saying, 'This is our team.' I think it's the best backcourt in the state. Those guys love each other. It's one of those things where real recognizes real.”
Lemon has them playing against each other in practice.
“Iron sharpens iron,” he said.
Tualatin also is getting consistent play from 6-7 senior post Javier Diaz (10.6 points, 8.3 rebounds) and 6-5 senior wing Nolan Keeney (10.5 points, 8.5 rebounds).
The win over Oregon City was critical for Tualatin's chances to repeat as league champion. The Timberwolves attacked the basket and made 16 of 17 free throws, with Lake hitting 11 of 12. It was a stark contrast from the loss at Oregon City, when they shot only three free throws.
Senior wing Diogo Alves, who missed the first game against Oregon City with a sprained ankle, scored 12 points on four three-pointers.
“The pressure was completely on us, which I love,” Lemon said. “I love when the pressure gets put on our guys so they can see how they stand up in those moments. … Oregon City has a heck of a team, but I think we got back to who we are.”
Tualatin's two other in-state losses came against No. 1 Barlow.
Sheldon surges
Sheldon has made a dramatic turnaround in its first season under coach Brian Brancato, who took over after coaching the school's girls team for the past 14 seasons.
The Irish, who have won 10 in a row, are 16-5 and leading the 6A Southwest Conference at 8-0. Last season, they went 11-13 overall, 4-8 in the conference.
“Our guys have really bought in,” Brancato said. “We are playing our best basketball, and have steadily improved over the past six weeks.”
Sheldon strengthened its hold on first place Saturday with a 71-43 home win over reigning conference champion South Medford (8-11, 4-3). The Irish have a cushion on second-place North Medford (11-7, 4-2).
Against South Medford, senior guard Rocco Graziano scored 22 points, making 5 of 6 from three-point range. Senior forward Eli Forsha and senior guard Nathan Sheley added 19 and 18 points, respectively.
Graziano missed the first nine games with an illness and Sheley was out for the first five games with a broken hand. Since their return, the team has taken off.
Sheley is averaging a team-high 17.7 points, shooting 42 percent on three-pointers. Forsha is averaging 15.0 points, shooting 57 percent from the field, and Graziano is contributing 10.0 points and 3.0 assists.
“Getting Nathan and Rocco back to full strength and on the floor together consistently is a big plus,” Brancato said. “Eli has been outstanding for us on both ends of the floor for us all year. His athleticism allows us to do a lot of different things.”
The Irish haven't won a conference title since 2019, when they shared it with North Medford and South Eugene. They haven't won an outright title since finishing first in Special District 2 in 2014.
No. 1 Crane wins 1A duel
Senior post Cody Siegner had 42 points and 14 rebounds to lead No. 1 Crane past No. 3 Nixyaawii 84-60 in a 1A nonleague showdown at Baker High School on Saturday.
Powered by the 6-7 Siegner, the three-time defending state champion Mustangs (21-0) scored 54 points in the paint as they ended the 12-game winning streak of the Golden Eagles (17-3) in a rematch of last year's 1A final.
“Nixyaawii did a great job of taking away our perimeter game and our team found Cody, who did a great job finishing inside,” Crane coach Eric Nichols said.
Senior guard Casse Roozeboom had 17 points and nine assists and senior forward Joah Friedrichsen added 11 points and eight rebounds for Crane, which pulled away after leading 59-51 after three quarters.
Senior Rylen Bronson had 22 points and five assists and sophomore Sun Schimmel added 12 points for Nixyaawii.
Crane has won 48 in a row, and with two regular-season games and potentially seven playoff games remaining (two league, five state), the Mustangs can break the state record of 56, set by Oakland in 1999-2001.
Half-court buzzer-beater saves Wilsonville
Coming off an upset loss to Hood River Valley, 5A No. 3 Wilsonville needed a monster game and miracle shot from senior guard Cole Hammack to avoid losing back-to-back conference games for the first time in 12 years.
Hammack capped a 49-point game by hitting a half-court shot at the buzzer to give the Wildcats (17-3, 10-1) an 87-86 overtime win at Centennial (10-9, 6-4) in a Northwest Oregon Conference game Friday.
Hammack shot 16 of 23 from the field, including 4 of 6 from three-point range, and made all 13 of his free throws. His point total ranks No. 2 in Wilsonville history, behind Zach Reichle, who scored 56 points in 2017.
The Wildcats stumbled at home against Hood River Valley (9-10, 4-7), falling to the Eagles 62-57. Hood River Valley had lost six of its previous eight games, but led by 13 at half and 18 points in the third quarter.
Senior wing Zak Poole had 24 points, six rebounds, five assists and two steals and sophomore guard JJ Poole added 18 points, hitting three three-pointers, for the Eagles, who lost to Wilsonville 70-36 at home Jan. 6.
“It was a big win for us for a lot of reasons,” Hood River Valley coach Christopher Dirks said. “Getting a win like this reminds us we are headed in the right direction.”
Roche said his team “got totally outplayed” by the Eagles.
“We could conjure up some excuses, but the truth is Hood River showed up and competed better than us, and they have a number of good players,” Wilsonville coach Chris Roche said.
"I think one thing our group might be learning is that just about everybody we play gives what seems like one of their best efforts of the season against us.”
Far West deadlocked
Siuslaw pulled into a first-place tie with Sutherlin in the 3A Far West League with a 67-58 home win over the Bulldogs on Friday.
The Vikings (14-6, 5-1), who lost at Sutherlin 48-37 in the first round of league play, trailed by seven points after one quarter before taking control. Senior guard Gave DeLeon scored 17 points and senior guard Justin Allen added 16 points, making five of Siuslaw's 10 three-pointers.
Sutherlin (13-7, 5-1) got 22 points and five assists from senior guard Coltyn Jacobs. Sophomore wing Aaron Lepre, one of the Bulldogs' top defenders, left in the first quarter with a sprained ankle.
Redmond rallies past No. 1 Caldera
No. 5 Redmond (14-5, 3-1) forced a three-way tie atop the 5A Intermountain Conference by rallying in the fourth quarter for a 62-61 win at No. 1 Caldera (13-5, 3-1) on Friday. They are even with No. 9 Summit (12-7, 3-1).
Redmond junior wing Wyatt Horner, out all week with the flu, returned to school Friday and proved to be the difference, scoring a team-high 26 points. Horner scored nine points in the fourth quarter, including the game-clinching free throw in the final second, for the Panthers, who closed the game on a 13-5 run.
Senior guard Miles Macomber scored 26 points for Caldera, which played without 6-9 senior center Will Jenson (illness).
Westside Christian suffers first loss
Senior guard Kaiden Ford had 29 points and nine rebounds as 4A No. 2 Cascade dealt 3A No. 1 Westside Christian its first loss of the season, beating the host Eagles 69-58 on Friday.
Senior guard Landon Knox added 19 points for the Cougars (15-3), who also got 10 points and 10 rebounds from senior wing Cruz Shank. Westside Christian fell to 19-1 with the loss.
Notes: No. 7 Roosevelt (14-6, 11-0) opened a two-game lead over Grant atop the 6A Portland Interscholastic League with a 73-53 win over the visiting Generals (14-6, 9-2) on Saturday. Senior Owen Nathan and junior Syrius Owens scored 28 and 18 points, respectively, to lead the Roughriders. … One week after Barlow's Tom Johnson became the fourth coach in state history to reach 700 wins, Cascade Christian's Brian Morse joined the club. With a 75-29 win at North Valley on Saturday, Morse hiked his career record to 700-270 in 37 seasons, all at Cascade Christian.
jerryu@osaa.org
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