BEAVERTON – Southridge's boys basketball team had three weeks to think about a soul-crushing, one-point loss at Jesuit, a game that ended on a four-point play by Crusaders senior Joe Stimpson at the buzzer.
So when the No. 3 Skyhawks played host to No. 5 Jesuit on Tuesday night with the 6A Metro League title hanging in the balance, they were laser-focused on settling the score.
“We had to get it done,” Southridge junior point guard Elijah Thompson said. “That game was at our palms.”
The Skyhawks (19-5, 9-2) delivered with their most important win of the season, breaking from a halftime tie and holding off the Crusaders 67-58 to clinch at least a share of the Metro title. Holding a one-game lead over Jesuit (17-7, 8-3), they can win the league title outright for the second time in three seasons by beating Mountainside (14-9, 6-5) at home in the regular-season finale Friday.
“We were 4-2 going into the second round of Metro, and we knew we had to recover,” Thompson said. “We set out a goal, six in a row. We've got one more to get. We'll go get it Friday.”
Thompson ran the show for Southridge, finishing with 20 points and 12 assists. Ryder Zanon, a 6-foot-9 senior post, had 15 points and six rebounds and junior forward Nikko Kalish added 11 points and eight rebounds.
The win helped soothe the pain that lingers from the Feb. 3 loss at Jesuit.
“That definitely stung,” Zanon said. “They hit an incredible one-in-a-hundred shot to win that game. That left us with a hunger. We've been working on rebounding, everything we didn't do in that game, so when we came back to this point, we did it. That's what we executed today.”
The loss forced the Skyhawks to take a long look in the mirror.
“It's still hangs with me. It'll be something you don't ever forget,” Southridge coach Phil Vesel said. “To the credit of our guys, though, I think it's galvanized us a little bit and brought us closer. We didn't point any fingers at anybody, we just moved on. And now we got this game, so it'll be a lot easier to put it in the past.”
Zanon, in particular, rose to the occasion with his physical play inside. The transfer from Central Catholic set the tone by scoring Southridge's first two baskets and made several timely plays in the second half, including a dunk that opened a 10-point lead with 5:24 left in the game.
“I was in the gym with him all summer, and I know what he's capable of,” Thompson said of Zanon, who entered averaging 10.7 points and 4.8 rebounds per game. “It was great that he was able to display it tonight. He's been working, I know that for sure. It helped us tonight, 100 percent.”
Zanon helped Southridge compile a 32-18 edge in rebounds. The Skyhawks had 10 offensive rebounds.
“Their size hurts us a little bit,” Jesuit coach Gene Potter said. “The way they shoot the ball on the perimeter, it's hard to dig off guys and help inside. We gave up too many offensive rebounds. Second-chance opportunities hurt us.”
Jesuit got back-to-back three-pointers from senior guard Ryan Barone to go into halftime tied 31-31. Southridge took the lead for good, though, when Kalish scored the first three baskets of the third quarter, the first two on offensive rebounds and the last one off a feed from Thompson.
The Skyhawks extended their edge to 46-34 midway through the third quarter. The Crusaders drew within 46-43 late in the third quarter and got as close as five points in the fourth quarter, but could not string together enough baskets make a final push.
Stimpson scored 16 points to lead Jesuit. Barone made four three-pointers and scored 12 points and junior guard Christian Lowe added 11 points off the bench.
Potter, who has coached Jesuit to seven state championships since taking over in 1993, said the Crusaders “need to tighten things down” to have a chance at a playoff run.
“Mental mistakes in the playoffs cost you games, then you're collecting gear the next day,” Potter said.
The Skyhawks believe they are taking the necessary steps to prepare for the postseason.
“We're doing great, but we can still get to another level,” Zanon said. “I don't think we've seen our best basketball. I think we'll keep getting better in the playoffs. We played great tonight, and there's still some stuff we can work on.”
Their top priority, though, is putting the final touch on the outright Metro title Friday.
“It would mean everything,” said Thompson, a third-year varsity player who leads Southridge in scoring (16.2) and assists (6.1). “We've only had it twice in school history. I've been part of one, and I want to be a part of another one. We've got to get it done.”
jerryu@osaa.org
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