Southridge knew the gym would be packed when taking on Rainier Beach (WA) in the Les Schwab Invitational on Sunday inside Viking Pavilion at Portland State University.
The Vikings boast the No. 1 high school recruit in the country in forward Tyran Stokes, and they were the No. 3 ranked team in the country according to MaxPreps.
Leading up to the game though, Skyhawks head coach Phil Vesel knew his team had a chance if they could slow down the Vikings athletes in transition and take care of the basketball.
And that’s exactly what Southridge (8-1) did.
The Skyhawks led nearly wire-to-wire to take down Rainier Beach (5-1) 69-65 and advance to the semifinals of the LSI.
“There were two things we focused on in our practice, one was you gotta take care of the basketball,” Vesel said. “We had five turnovers in the first half and in the third quarter we had seven and they closed the gap. And transition defense. We were trying to get our guys back, they score so quick and if you don’t build walls against their dribble penetration, then it’s easy for them. When they had to stare at our zone for a little bit it really took them out of their rhythm.”
Southridge came out confident in its plan, forcing early turnovers on Rainier Beach and doing what the Skyhawks do best shooting the ball. Senior Drew Groenig drained his first two 3-pointers as they went up 17-11 after the first quarter.
It was more of the same defensively from the Skyhawks in the second as the Vikings struggled to get points from anyone other than Stokes, who had 10 at halftime.
Meanwhile on offense, the night was just beginning for Southridge junior Brooks Fortune off the bench. He hit two big triples to compliment fellow junior Elijah Thompson who went to work with eight points in the frame.
At the break, Southridge led 31-22.
“I hit a couple off the start, I just felt hot so I had to keep shooting,” Fortune said. “It felt great, it was loud in there. I missed a couple but the crowd was getting hyped, so I had to keep feeding off that.”
Fortune kept shooting, making three more deep balls in the third quarter that allowed the Skyhawks to get away with those seven turnovers.
But it wasn’t just Fortune as senior Julius Vesel had a big basket, junior Nikko Kalish had a momentum-changing three-point play, and senior Central Catholic transfer Ryder Zanon played big down in the post.
Zanon had the difficult task of being the paint stopper against Stokes, and the big man more than held his own down low against Rainier Beach and for most of the early season.
“(Zanon) played great tonight,” Phil Vesel said. “Tonight, we got a couple down in the post and at first he was like, ‘Can I go score?’ Like yeah, go score, basketball is basketball. I also thought early he had some really big rebounds – they like to crash the boards – that took them out and some guys, they didn’t go to the boards as hard.”
“(Zanon) is the big we really needed when he transferred over,” Thompson said. “We knew his addition really helps us. He was able to hold it down down low and he got it done for sure.”
Still, Stokes was heating up and scored 11 in the third, and his freshman teammate in JJ Crawford, the son of former NBA star Jamal Crawford, also started to find his stroke with two 3-pointers.
The Vikings closed the gap to 51-50 heading into the fourth.
Fortune still kept shooting, knocking down an early three to keep the Skyhawks ahead and the offense flowing.
“I see (Fortune) in practice every day, he’s been my best friend since first grade,” Thompson said. “I know what he’s capable of, and he got to show it on a big stage today.”
“(Fortune) was feeling it, he gets those zones where it just looks like it’s going in every time he shoots it,” Vesel said. “He was in one of those tonight. And because of that, it changed the dynamic of our offense because it creates a lot more space.”
Rainier Beach battled back with a three-point play from Stokes and a basket from Crawford to tie the game at 57 with 5:15 to go.
The two sides traded buckets and then Southridge got back-to-back stops that turned into a make and then a huge 3-pointer from Thompson to go up 64-59 with 2:22 to go.
“We’ve been playing with each other since fifth grade so we just know how to play with each other,” Fortune said of playing with Thompson. “(The whole team’s) chemistry is off the charts.”
Stokes hit a three to make it 64-62 and the Skyhawks missed three of their next four free throws, but it didn’t matter as the defense held firm on the other end to preserve the lead in the closing moments.
Fortune was eventually fouled and nailed both to go up 67-62, but Crawford responded quickly with a corner three to make it 67-65 Southridge with 7.8 seconds to go.
Groenig was fouled on the next inbound, and he hit both of his looks as well to close out the 69-65 victory.
“It was great, great atmosphere, great team and they were really well coached,” Thompson said. “Really great players, they got Stokes and Crawford, but we just had to get it done.”
Fortune finished with a team-high 22 points with six made 3-pointers while Thompson had 12 points. Zanon chipped in eight points and nine rebounds, Groenig had 10 points and Julius Vesel had 10 points.
Stokes had a game-high 27 points while Crawford had 15, all in the second half.
For Southridge, the moment was never too big, and it started with confidence that it could find success on offense.
“Our guys love to be pressed, and that was one of the messages, like, ‘I hope they press us,’” Phil Vesel said. “Not only are we going to value the ball, but we’re going to attack their pressure.”
The win also came in front of Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard who was in attendance courtside. Thompson said Lillard is his favorite player, so playing well in front of the nine-time All-Star was a surreal moment.
However, the tournament is far from over as the Skyhawks draw another difficult opponent in Sierra Canyon (CA) in the semifinals after the Trailblazers blew by Barlow in the quarters on Saturday.
That semifinal is set for 8:15 p.m. Monday, and if there’s one thing Southridge proved on Sunday, it’s that the Skyhawks are the current kings of the Pacific Northwest.
“We knew we could do it, we know what we’re capable of,” Fortune said. “Just go out there and hoop, that’s it.”
More day three highlights
Gresham 65, Roosevelt 59: The Gophers won a tight one thanks in part to 16 points each from Ter’Rae Foster and Elijah Griffith, the latter also grabbing eight rebounds. Kareem Artharee chipped in eight points and 10 rebounds for Gresham as well. Roosevelt was led by Lucas Moreira with 19 points and six rebounds.
Westview 57, Lincoln 46: Due to the odd 18-team bracket and some schedule adjustments, the Cardinals were brought in for a game against Westview in which the Wildcats took control in the third. Dayton Jenkins had 14 points to lead the way while Dash Nicely had 13 and Ian Bautista had 12. Miles Novy-Hildesley led the Cardinals with 13.
Jesuit 65, Canby 42: The Crusaders shut the game down in the fourth after going into the final frame only up eight. Jesuit allowed only two points in the fourth and were led on offense by 19 points each from Joe Stimpson and Major Williams. Sam Curvy chipped in nine points and nine rebounds. Canby got 15 points from Joseph Roberts and 10 points and eight rebounds from Dane Edwards.
Grant 74, Nelson 66: The Generals came back from an early deficit with a big second half to take out the Hawks. Malik Mason and Jacob Harper-Grant had it going on offense, scoring 26 and 21 points, respectively. Harper-Grant was 3-for-6 from the three-point line. Jamarea Sanders added in 11 points and 11 rebounds. Nelson was led by 22 points from Jaydon Schregardus and Carter Lockhart chipped in 17 points.
Oregon City 75, Clackamas 57: The Pioneers dominated from the jump behind 50 points combined from Alijah Scott, Eli Hopkins and Connor Lemmon.
Columbus (FL) 74, Parkrose 39: The Broncos held their own in the first half, but the size and speed of the Explorers was too much in the second half. Parkrose was led by Keone Gates and Adrian “Fuzzy” Montague with 12 points each. Caydin Gaskins led the Explorers with 15 points, 11 of those in the third quarter alone.
Day 4 schedule
Jesuit vs. Gresham, 9 a.m. (consolation)
Roosevelt vs. Canby, 10:30 a.m. (consolation)
Pace (GA) vs. Grant, noon (consolation semifinals)
Westview vs. Nelson, 1:30 p.m. (consolation)
Tualatin vs. Parkrose, 3:30 p.m. (winner’s bracket consolation)
Barlow vs. Rainier Beach (WA), 5 p.m. (winner’s bracket consolation)
Central Catholic vs. Columbus (FL), 6:45 p.m. (semifinals)
Sierra Canyon (CA) vs. Southridge, 8:15 p.m. (semifinals)
austinw@osaa.org
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