Pleasant Hill boys basketball is thriving in its first season under coach Luke Jackson, the former Creswell and University of Oregon star and NBA lottery pick.
The Billies, No. 2 in the OSAAtoday 3A coaches poll, have completed the regular season with a 22-3 record. After sharing the Mountain Valley Conference title last season, they went 10-0 in the MVC this season to claim their first outright league title since 2019.
Riding a 15-game winning streak, Pleasant Hill is gearing up to make a run at its first state championship since 1999.
“I think there's probably six to eight teams that have a real chance,” Jackson said. “It's not like the last couple years where Cascade Christian had a seven-footer and people were going to have a really hard time. I think the state title is up for grabs. Our attitude is, 'Why not us?'”
Pleasant Hill brought back two starters from last season in 6-foot-3 senior guard Gavin Inglish and 6-1 junior point guard Landen Melvin. Inglish is averaging a team-high 19.6 points per game and shooting better than 40 percent from three-point range. Melvin is putting up 16.9 points.
With senior posts Riley Smith (6-4) and Kaden Fisher (6-5) joining the starting lineup, the Billies have a different look this season. Smith is averaging 8.0 points and Fisher, a football player who didn't play basketball last year, is contributing 6.0 rebounds.
“We're bigger and maybe a little stronger and more physical than most teams at this level,” Jackson said. “Quite a few football players on the team.”
Much of the offense revolves around the sharpshooting Inglish. After averaging 22.0 points as a junior – when he had a 56-point game – he has made a conscious effort to share the ball more this season.
“He could probably score 30 a night, but I don't know if we would win every game,” Jackson said. “He gets other guys involved. You can't win a state championship by yourself. I think that's what he wants on his resume more than maybe leading the state in scoring. He's as good a shooter as I've seen at the high school level in a long time.”
Inglish's deep range has piqued the interest of college programs. He has offers from NAIA and Division II schools.
“I'm not so sure he's not a Division I player,” Jackson said. “His shooting ability is as good as anybody in the country.”
Jackson said that junior guard Jacob Neely (5-11), a first-year starter, is one of the best defenders he has seen in the state. Neely has been a catalyst for the team's pressure defense.
“He works really well with our other guards, just being able to get after players full court,” Jackson said. “We're able to defend full-court and put a lot of pressure on teams, create a lot of turnovers.”
Depth also has been a team strength.
“We play nine or 10 guys most games, so we've got some versatility and a lot of shooting ability,” Jackson said. “It leaves the coaching staff with a lot of options.”
The only blemishes on Pleasant Hill's record are losses to 2A No. 1 Western Christian, Coquille and 4A No. 4 Marist Catholic. The 72-42 loss at Western Christian in the team's second game was a wake-up call.
“Our guys just didn't play hard, so I pulled them out and let the younger guys play,” said Jackson, who joined the Pleasant Hill staff last season as an assistant. “They ended up blowing us out, but I thought it would be a valuable lesson early in the season that you're not going to play for me unless you play hard.”
Pleasant Hill sent its JV2 team to play at Coquille on Dec. 10, resulting a 56-42 loss that counts on the varsity record. The Billies fell at Marist Catholic 51-46 on Dec. 20, but have not lost since.
Pleasant Hill has beaten No. 3 Valley Catholic, No. 8 Creswell (twice) and No. 10 De La Salle North Catholic (twice). The Billies also hold wins over 4A co-No. 9 Stayton and 2A No. 3 Oakland.
The team has a knack for winning close games, with six victories coming by five points or fewer. Jackson said that last year's 66-61 loss at Neah-Kah-Nie in the playoff round of 16 bred determination in the Billies.
“Sometimes having a little trauma can be a real positive thing,” Jackson said.
A 51-47 win at Creswell on Friday struck a personal chord for Jackson. He was a two-time state player of the year for Creswell, leading the Bulldogs to the 2000 state title.
“Obviously, I'm a Bulldog for life, and I care deeply about a lot of the coaching staff and some of the players,” he said. “It was a little odd, but when it comes down to it, I'm just coaching a high school basketball team. So it's all friends before and after the game, but during the game you're competitors.”
Koehnke threatens state scoring mark
Regis senior guard Isaiah Koehnke has moved within reach of the state scoring record.
The 6-2 Koehnke, who started the season with 1,975 career points, has increased his total to 2,521. He has climbed to No. 4 on the all-time list behind Lake Oswego's Kevin Love (2,628, 2004-07), Knappa's Bob “Pudgy” Hunt (2,579, 1954-57) and Toledo's Conner Marchant (2,533, 2017-20).
Koehnke, who has a career scoring average of 21.4, needs 107 points to draw even with Love. Regis (19-6), ranked No. 4 in the OSAAtoday 2A coaches poll, has completed its regular season but has the potential to play six postseason games – two in the Tri-River Conference playoffs, one in the state playoffs and three in the state tournament.
Koehnke said “it's a cool feeling” to know that he is on a list with many of the state's great players.
“It wasn’t anything I was aiming for, just playing basketball,” he said. “It feels good to hit that. I wasn’t ever shooting for it or thought it’ll be something I’ll ever hit.”
If Koehnke maintains his career scoring average over six games, he would pass Love.
“There is no number or goal I’m aiming for,” he said. “I just want to win every game and keep going with my team and see how far we can go.”
-- Jeremy McDonald contributed to this report
Valley Coast splits title
No. 8 East Linn Christian earned a share of the 2A Valley Coast Conference title with a 63-50 home win over Crosshill Christian in the regular-season finale Friday.
Senior Blake Knurowski had 21 points, six rebounds, three assists and three steals to lead East Linn Christian (18-5, 9-1), which finished tied for first place with Crosshill Christian (14-9, 9-1). The teams, who split their season series, will play Saturday at Monroe to determine the conference's top seed to the state playoffs.
Senior Ely Faught had 15 points and 10 rebounds and junior Brison Edwards had 15 points and three rebounds in the win. East Linn Christian made eight three-pointers, getting three each from Knurowski and Edwards.
Knurowski, who is averaging a team-leading 16 points per game, surpassed 1,000 career points in the game.
jerryu@osaa.org
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