A recap of Saturday's boys basketball round of 16:
3A
No. 17 Banks pulled off the upset of the season in the 3A classification, stunning defending state champion and top seed Westside Christian 67-60. The host Eagles had been in three consecutive state championship games in Coos Bay but won't be making a trip to the coast this year. The Braves previously suffered an 85-53 loss to Westside Christian on Jan. 3 that dropped them to 2-8 on the season. Banks has gone 15-1 since. Ryder Powell scored 22 points for the Braves, including 13 in a third quarter they won 23-13 to take an eight-point lead into the final frame. Fisher King added 17 points. Cade Hartenstein had 26 for the Eagles, with 20 of those coming in the first half. ...
No. 2 Cascade Christian (23-3) is hoping to get back to the top of the heap in 3A after winning three straight championships from 2022-24. The Challengers got a test from 25th-seeded Santiam Christian but came away with a 61-49 win to head back to Coos Bay for the seventh year in a row. Deryk Farmer led the Challengers with 14 points, while Jake Holden and Hudson Gotzman had 12 each. ... Third seed Valley Catholic (24-3) beat No. 14 Oregon Episcopal for the third time this season, but this one was the toughest win. The Valiants needed double overtime Friday to finally get past the Anteaters 82-73. ...
No. 4 Riverside (23-4) turned it on in the fourth quarter of a 72-53 win over Elmira, outscoring the 13th-seeded Falcons 22-9 in the final eight minutes. Cooper Cemore had 22 points and Jesus Pena dropped in five three-pointers on the way to 17 points for the Pirates. Carsen Adams led the way for Elmira with 18 points. ... No. 5 Pleasant Hill (21-5) dominated 12th-seeded Neah-Kah-Nie 79-40 to return to Coos Bay in hopes of improving on last year's second-place finish. ... Blanchet Catholic (20-7) earned its first trip to the state tournament site since 2018 as the No. 6 Cavaliers edged past No. 11 Burns 50-43. Sam Moser, who scored 21 points and went 4-for-6 from behind the three-point line, swung the momentum Blanchet Catholic's way for good on a deep three-pointer with less than three minutes remaining. Adam Barnett scored 14 points for the Cavaliers, while Wyatt Sewell (18 points) and Dylan Johnson (16 points) led the way for the Hilanders. ...
No. 9 St. Mary's of Medford took control in the fourth quarter against host Douglas, turning a three-point lead through three frames into a 67-52 victory. Tai Zimmerman (17 points) and Jax North (14 points) were the top scorers for the Crusaders (19-5). "We played against a tough and physical team," St. Mary's coach Luke Decoste said. "Their zone slowed us down but we managed to play through it, and our pressure defense gave them trouble most of the game." Landon Hinshaw scored 12 points for the No. 8 Trojans, who also lost to St. Mary's in December. ... No. 7 Creswell will host No. 10 Salem Academy at 6 p.m. Saturday in the final game of the Round of 16.
2A
A big second quarter propelled Trinity Lutheran (25-1) to a sizable halftime lead and the No. 1 Saints breezed to a 23rd consecutive win with an 84-50 decision over 16th-seeded Santiam to earn a trip to Pendleton for the state tournament. Trinity Lutheran's last 11 victories have been by 29 or more points. Quentin Romney went 6-for-8 from the floor and 10-for-11 at the free-throw line to pace the Saints with 22 points. Chimi Gilbert added 17. Kross Martinson scored 16 for Santiam, which won nine of its last 13 games after starting the season 2-11. ...
No. 2 Portland Christian improved to 27-0 on its quest for a state title after losing in the last two championship games, dispatching No. 15 Toledo 94-30. All 12 Royals who played scored, with five players finishing in double figures led by Hudson Calhoun's 15 points. Ethan Larner had 14 while Zane Ozier and Cole Curry pitched in with 13 each. "This group continues to set the tone defensively and did again tonight with some great pressure in the first half," coach Erik Lyslo said. "We were very efficient on offense and did everything we talked about this week." Evan Putnam had 14 points for the Boomers. ...
Regis (25-2) picked up its 15th straight victory as the No. 3 Rams cruised to a 69-27 decision over 14th seed Heppner. Regis won by at least 40 points for the ninth time this season. ... Ryan Fullerton and Andy McCurdy each topped the 20-point mark as No. 4 Oakland (22-5) shook off an early six-point deficit and routed No. 13 Grant Union 82-51. ... After playing to a 15-15 tie through one quarter, No. 5 Stanfield turned it on from there and ran past Nestucca 73-44. Aaron Sanchez led the Tigers with 17 points, while Antonio Galindo had 16. Owen Love put in 14 points for the No. 12 Bobcats. ...
They came in as the No. 11 seed with 11 losses on the season, but the Western Christian Pioneers are still the two-time defending state champions and they took another step toward an eighth consecutive appearance in the championship game with a 58-43 road win over No. 6 Knappa. Western Christian led by 22 after three quarters and got a team-leading 15 points from Parker Reed. ... No. 7 Lowell grinded out a 39-36 win over 10th-seeded Bandon with Gage Greco and Wyatt Smith each scoring 13 points. ... East Linn Christian scored only five points in the first quarter vs. No. 9 Enterprise, but the No. 8 seed got it going from there and outscored the visiting Outlaws by 11 in the final frame to win 67-54. Grady Knurowski went 7-for-16 from three-point range on the way to a team-high 26 points while Brison Edwards posted 20 points. "We finally got some separation in the fourth quarter due to some timely steals," Eagles coach Jonathan Whitehead said.
1A
South Wasco County senior Jason Hull continued his amazing senior season, scoring 50 points on 20-38 shooting as the No. 3 Redsides improved to 27-2 by beating 14th-seeded Joseph 68-50 to advance to the state tournament in Baker City. Hull, who is averaging 34.7 points per game this season and had a career-high 60 in a game in January, is 29 points short of tying Swede Halbrook's 74-year-old record for most points in a season by an Oregon high school player in any classification (1,035 for Lincoln in 1951-52). Senior Brice Harmon led Joseph with 19 points. ...
Top seed Union (26-2) got a big scare from No. 17 Rogue Valley Adventist, holding on late for a 79-77 victory to preserve their chance for a first state title since 1949. KJ Klebaum dominated for the Bobcats with 32 points, 10 rebounds and four assists while Landon Fratzke added 20 points. "I'm so proud of the way our guy stayed true to the moment and got a stop when it mattered most," Union coach Odin Miller said. Sophomore Jude Caldwell poured in six three-pointers on the way to 21 points to lead the Red Tail Hawks, who also got 17 points from Logan Bochardy and Mathew Escalona. ... No. 2 Country Christian (22-6) fell behind by 10 points after one quarter but rallied to take down upset-minded No. 18 Nixyaawii 57-53. Ryan Gordon put up 18 points for the Cougars while Tyson Smith made a trio of three-pointers on the way to 13 points. The visiting Eagles were led by 24 points from Kash Bronson. ...
Brandon Lee scored 23 points and grabbed 11 rebounds as fourth-seeded North Clackamas Christian shook off an early five-point deficit and pulled away in the second half to down No. 13 Umpqua Valley Christian 56-40. Sam Fulcher added 15 points for the Saints. Caleb Saylor dropped in 19 for the Monarchs in a losing effort. ... No. 5 Valor Christian (22-2) raced past 12th-seeded Eddyville Charter 60-39 to set up a quarterfinal matchup against North Clackamas Christian, which handed the Knights one their two losses this season in late January. ... Ben Buzhduga scored 26 points and Ethan Zelenivskiy pitched in with 18 points, 12 rebounds and five steals as No. 6 Open Door Christian (21-5) broke open a tight game late to get past No. 11 Adrian 67-56. The Antelopes had won 17 games in a row, but came up short of a trip to Baker City. Brooks Martin had a team-high 18 points for Adrian. ...
No. 23 Prairie City continued an unlikely run to the state tournament with a second consecutive upset, 59-57 over seventh-seeded Days Creek. The underdog Panthers led by 12 through three quarters but hung on from there. Prairie City previously beat No. 10 Pilot Rock 79-78 in the first round on Tuesday. ... Crosspoint Christian junior Caden Moritz "played incredibly hard when it mattered most" according to head coach Tim Moore and the No. 9 Warriors earned a road win over No. 8 Chiloquin, 55-50. Crosspoint had lost both previous meetings vs. the Panthers this season. Moritz scored 26 points and nabbed 12 rebounds as the Warriors used a 21-9 third quarter to turn a 10-point halftime deficit into a lead. Denver Bravo scored 19 points to lead Chiloquin and Dilen Black had 18.


