Grant boys basketball knew it would be young coming into the 2025-2026 season.
A mix of graduated or transferred talent left the Generals with only a pinch of returning varsity experience, as seen by the starting lineup featuring four sophomores and a freshman throughout the Les Schwab Invitational this past week at Viking Pavilion on the campus of Portland State University.
The young Generals more than held their own though, knocking off Nelson in the consolation bracket after dropping their first-round game to eventual champion Columbus (FL).
Grant lost its next game to Pace (GA) thanks to being outscored 26-6 in the fourth, but rebounded Tuesday with a big win over No. 7 Clackamas 72-68 to prove the Generals aren’t backing down just because of youth.
“Since we’re a younger team, everybody has been kind of doubting us,” Grant sophomore Jamarea Sanders said. “We’ve been showing people that we can do as much as other people can, people older than us. We’ve been doing good so far.”
Sanders, who transferred from Roosevelt, was the scoring force in the win over Clackamas, going right to work in the first quarter with seven points, three coming on an and-one play at the rim.
Cavaliers junior Max Martinov wasn’t going to let the game get out of hand though, scoring five himself in the first while snagging five rebounds and picking up one block.
Clackamas led 15-13 after the first, but Grant took the lead back going into the break thanks to five more points from Sanders and six from freshman Abraham Cogan.
“What we’ve been stressing is doing together, and I thought they did a great job of staying together even through the mistakes,” Grant head coach Sean Brownhill said. “That’s been some of our issues at times with such a new young group. They battled through the day and our fourth game in four days.”
Martinov kept firing though, hitting two early 3-pointers to put the Cavs back in front 44-41 halfway through the third.
But again, it was Sanders hitting a corner 3-pointer followed by sophomore Jacob Harper-Grant nailing two threes of his own to push the Generals back in front 52-47 at the end of the third.
“I used to play with (Harper-Grant) when I was younger, so it’s good to be back with him,” Sanders said. “Teaming up with my brother, and I feel like we’re going to do good this season.”
Martinov scored five quick points to tie the game up at 54 with 6:31 to go, but did pick up his fourth foul and had to come out of the game.
The Grant duo went back to work though from deep as Sanders and Harper-Grant each connected on a triple to go up 66-58 with 3:52 to go.
Martinov returned to try and spark a rally, but he quickly fouled out and the Cavaliers weren’t able to capitalize on a few missed free throws by Grant down the stretch.
Eventually, the Generals were able to dribble out the clock and pick up the 72-68 victory to send a statement about where this group’s development is already at.
Sanders finished the game with 29 points and four rebounds.
“(Sanders) fits right in, plays defense and can score better than we even knew,” Brownhill said. “Makes the right plays. He’s been great and great to have him.”
Harper-Grant went for 21 points and five rebounds, but the win was about much more than those two.
Four of the Generals starters fit the prototypical mold for wings who can play 1-5 as they all have a frame around 6-foot-4 and have the speed and size to stay in front of any one.
Not only that, but they can all make plays. Cogan had nine points, 13 rebounds and five assists, meanwhile sophomore starter Malik Mason had nine points and six rebounds. And the Generals point guard in sophomore Jaylen Mills played tough defense on Clackamas sharpshooter RJ Barhoum who didn’t hit a single 3-pointer.
“We’re very versatile,” Brownhill said. “We have a bunch of guys who are 6-4, 6-5, 6-6. Not a lot of teams have that, we’re just young. We’re just getting them through those growing pains, and it’s why we played a really tough schedule to get us ready for January and February.”
Martinov finished with 23 points and 10 rebounds while Barhoum chipped in 18 points and Syrius Owens had 16.
For Grant, with a young but versatile group, it believes all the goals for the storied program are still on the table.
The PIL as a whole this year is going through a youth movement, and Benson has been tabbed as the favorites coming into the season.
But after what Grant accomplished in the nonleague, which also includes a one-point loss to No. 6 Barlow with Cogan, the Generals are ready to prove that the more things change, the more they stay the same for the boys in blue and gray.
“It proved a lot to people because people said we were going to lose,” Sanders said. “We’re proving them wrong. They said because we’re younger we’re going to lose, that we’re immature. But we showed them we’re not immature, we can do as much as older people can.”
Final results
First: Sierra Canyon (CA) 4-0
Second: Columbus (FL) 3-1
Third: Central Catholic 3-1
Fourth: Southridge 2-2
Fifth: Rainier Beach 2-1
Sixth: Tualatin 2-2
Consolation champion: Oregon City 3-1
Consolation runnerup: Pace (GA) 2-2
Westview 3-1
Parkrose 2-2
Grant 2-2
Jesuit 2-2
Gresham 1-2
Barlow 1-3
Clackamas 1-3
Canby 1-3
Roosevelt 1-3
Nelson 0-3
austinw@osaa.org
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