GRESHAM – It didn't take long for hot-shooting Barlow to show that it was too much for shorthanded Central Catholic on Friday night in a match-up of the top two teams in the OSAAtoday 6A boys basketball coaches poll.
The No. 1 Bruins made nine three-pointers in the first half – four each by seniors Jalen Atkins and Mason Bierbrauer – and led by as many as 37 points in the third quarter on their way to a 75-55 home rout of the No. 2 Rams.
The decisive win in the packed gym not only gives Barlow (14-1, 4-0) sole possession of first place in the Mt. Hood Conference over Central Catholic (8-6, 3-1) and No. 8 Nelson (11-4, 3-1), but it was therapeutic for the Bruins, who lost all three meetings to the Rams last season.
“What they did to us last year hurt. It stung,” Atkins said. “So getting to play them at home, this is what we live for. Come here and play big-time games and make big-time plays. It was a blessing.”
Atkins and Bierbrauer fired away from the outside and 6-foot-6 senior jumping-jack Brayden Barron provided jolts of energy, making all nine of his shots in the first half, including three dunks. Barlow led 22-13 after one quarter, 51-24 at half and 64-27 midway through the third quarter.
“Obviously being at home with our crowd was a big factor,” Bruins coach Tom Johnson said. “I was just really pleased with how well we played tonight. We passed the ball as well as we have all year. That was a big key.”
Atkins finished with 24 points, eight assists, four rebounds and two steals, Barron had 22 points, 11 rebounds and three assists and Bierbrauer tacked on 18 points, five rebounds and three assists. Barlow shot 58 percent from the field (30 for 52), including 48 percent on three-pointers (11 for 23), and had 22 assists.
“I think that's as well as we've played, but we've got a lot more in the tank,” said Atkins, who is averaging a team-high 21.0 points per game. “I think we'll just continue to get one percent better every day, and who knows, the sky's the limit for us.”
Reigning state champion Central Catholic had won 30 consecutive games against Oregon teams since the start of last season, but was unable to match Barlow's firepower Friday.
The Rams were missing four rotation players, including two starters in junior point guard Zamir “Bam” Paschal (knee) and 6-7 junior wing Jalen Nicholson (knee). They also were without 6-6 junior wing Donovan Miller (illness) and 6-5 senior forward Landon Kelsey, who was on a football visit to Arizona.
Central Catholic lacked the quickness and athleticism to match up with Barron, who had five dunks on the night. Barron was a terror near the basket and played sticky perimeter defense on explosive Rams senior guard Isaac Carr.
“He's unstoppable. That dude has all the tools to be super special,” Atkins said of the Portland State-bound Barron. “The more he works, the more he just keeps developing. He just plays hard. He's a dog.”
Zamir Paschal missed his fifth consecutive game with a sore knee. Rams coach David Blue said that Paschal is scheduled to undergo a procedure on the knee in two weeks and is likely to miss the rest of the season.
The Rams are feeling the absence of Paschal, who averages 14.8 points per game, second on the team behind Carr (17.3).
“Bam's just so dynamic,” Blue said. “He's just a game-changer. He makes the right play. He never gets sped up. The moment is never too big for him. He just does it all.”
It puts more of a scoring burden on Carr and senior guard Duce Paschal, who scored 20 and 14 points, respectively, in Friday's loss.
“It puts a lot on them, but we have guys that, when we're whole, can pick up the weight,” Blue said.
Blue said his team was forced to play a different style Friday due to being shorthanded, and that the players need to do a better job of trusting one another.
“We were trying a lot of one-on-one stuff,” Blue said. “We knew we were going to have to take great shots every time down the court tonight, and when we took quick shots, they were getting out, and they were on fire. It's been a while since they've got us, so I know they were excited. They were knocking down shots and it got away from us.”
Barlow will play at Central Catholic on Feb. 18. The Bruins know they can't afford to be too satisfied by Friday's win.
“Tonight's win was good, but we've just got to keep it going,” Barron said. “We've got to stay humble. We play them at their place, and they could come out and beat us.”
Said Johnson: “It's a long season. We want to stay in the moment. We want to be better tomorrow than we were today.”
With the win, Johnson's career coaching record is 698-349. He can reach the 700-win plateau with wins over Gresham and Reynolds next week.
jerryu@osaa.org
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