A deep and talented sophomore class has Cascade Christian in position to regain its perch atop 3A boys basketball, if not this season, then in the near future.
The Challengers, who won three consecutive state championships from 2022 to 2024 before falling in the quarterfinals last season, are steadily improving with a roster that includes eight sophomores, including two starters in 6-foot-3 wing Jake Holden and 6-6 post Andy Alvarez.
Cascade Christian (17-3, 6-0 Southern Oregon Conference) has won 11 in a row and sits at No. 5 in the OSAAtoday 3A coaches poll. The Challengers have extended their conference winning streak to 49.
Coach Brian Morse knew his sophomores had potential when they placed second in the state tournament as seventh-graders and third as eighth-graders. That group was bolstered by the addition of Holden, who transferred to Cascade Christian after playing as a freshman at 4A Baker last season.
“We've got some good young kids,” Morse said. “They normally would be playing a ton of JV, but they've been thrown into the fire. We started off really slow and had a lot of growing pains. They're starting to come on. It should be fun to see what they can do, this year and the next two years.”
Holden and Alvarez are starting alongside 6-2 senior wing Deryk Farmer (quarterback of the state champion football team), 6-1 junior point guard Hudson Gotzman and 6-2 senior guard Brady Kleker.
Holden is averaging a team-high 16.4 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.6 steals. He has six 20-point games, including a season-high 29 in an overtime win over 4A Junction City.
“He's just rock-solid with the ball,” Morse said. “He's got great moves, great step-throughs. He attacks the basket well.”
Holden suffered an ankle injury in a home win over Lakeview on Jan. 27 and is out indefinitely. Morse said he believes that Holden will be back for the playoffs.
“The last two games we haven't had him, and we haven't played the same,” Morse said. “We were dependent on him. I told the guys, 'You have to assume that Jake Holden is not coming back to save the day. You guys got to figure it out.'”
Alvarez is putting up 9.2 points, 7.6 rebounds, 1.8 steals and 1.0 blocks. He entered the season with varsity experience, starting the last six weeks of last season when Farmer went down with an ankle injury.
“He will be really, really good,” Morse said of Alvarez, a standout pitcher for the state runner-up baseball team as a freshman. “He hasn't grown into his frame. He's Bambi on ice sometimes.”
Farmer, a fourth-year varsity player who started on the 2024 title team, provides leadership. He is averaging 9.9 points and shooting a team-leading 40 percent from three-point range (23 for 58).
Farmer showed the way in the team's biggest win of the season, scoring 16 points as Cascade Christian beat St. Mary's 56-41 at home Jan. 23 to take sole possession of first place in the SOC.
“We kind of go by him,” Morse said. “When he rises to the occasion, we're a really hard team to beat.”
Farmer and Kleker are the team's only returning starters. Kleker is averaging 9.7 points and has made a team-leading 30 three-pointers, shooting 33 percent from behind the arc.
The Challengers' losses were 70-54 to 2A No. 3 Regis, 54-45 to 4A Sisters and 49-41 to 4A co-No. 1 Madras. Their only wins against teams currently ranked in the coaches polls are 65-64 over 3A No. 9 Blanchet Catholic and 53-49 over 3A No. 8 Creswell.
Perhaps their most impressive win was when they rallied from a 20-point halftime deficit to beat Junction City 66-61 in overtime.
“That was a breakthrough game for us to kind of show them, 'Hey, we can do this,'” Morse said. “It kind of got the guys motivated.”
Oregon West logjam
No. 3 Newport forced a three-way tie atop the 4A Oregon West Conference with a 68-42 rout at No. 6 Philomath on Tuesday night.
With the win, the Cubs (15-3, 4-1) are tied for first place with Philomath (10-7, 4-1) and No. 7 Stayton (11-7, 4-1).
Newport bolted to a 10-0 lead over the Warriors, holding them scoreless until 2:09 left in the first quarter. The Cubs led 18-2 after one quarter, 35-19 at half and 53-25 after three quarters.
Newport finished with 12 three-pointers, getting three apiece from seniors Aaidyn Bokuro and Easton Herrmann and juniors Jackson Jincks and Collin Fierro. Hermann and Bokuro led the Cubs in scoring with 18 and 17 points, respectively.
Open Door stops No. 2 Country Christian
A victory over No. 2 Country Christian has propelled No. 5 Open Door Christian into first place in the 1A Valley 10 League.
The Huskies (15-4, 7-1) moved into the top spot with a 62-54 home win over the Cougars (17-4, 6-1) on Friday, and held their position by beating Trinity Academy 53-34 at home Tuesday.
Open Door Christian junior Ethan Zelenivsky led the way against Country Christian with 33 points and 16 rebounds, making three three-pointers. Zelenivsky forced overtime by making a floater with 26 seconds left and added seven points in the extra session.
Junior Brendan Tischler made three three-pointers and added 13 points for the Huskies. Senior Blake Halverson scored 14 points for Country Christian.
Wells takes down Grant
Wells handed Grant its first loss in the 6A Portland Interscholastic League, going on the road to drop the Generals 71-58 on Friday.
Senior guard Ahmad Surur led the Guardians (8-9, 5-3) with 25 points, making 9 of 10 free throws. Junior guard Blake Karman and sophomore guard Sufyan Carter each added 17 points. Junior forward Muhammed Carter played limited minutes due to foul trouble but was a force, posting seven points, 12 rebounds and five blocks.
“It was a great win for us,” Wells coach Max Trezise said. “The boys worked so hard and earned it. These boys are figuring out what it takes to win at a high level.”
Grant (11-6, 8-1) bounced back to defeat Lincoln 76-72 in overtime at home Tuesday to stay one game ahead of Benson (12-6, 7-2) and Roosevelt (8-9, 7-2) in the standings.
North Eugene edges Thurston in OT
No. 6 North Eugene stayed alive in the 5A Midwestern League title chase with a 48-46 overtime win at first-place Thurston on Tuesday.
Senior guard Jordan Gray made a driving shot with five seconds left in overtime to lift the Highlanders to the win. It avenged a 65-47 home loss to the No. 3 Thurston on Jan. 13 and ended the Colts' 11-game winning streak.
Thurston (14-5, 6-1) has a one-game lead over North Eugene (17-3, 5-2) and Churchill (10-7, 5-2) with five games remaining.
jerryu@osaa.org
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