For years, Oregon City was the gold standard in Oregon girls basketball, winning a record 12 state championships. The Pioneers were so dominant in the 1990s that USA Today declared them national champions three times.
In the school's century-old history of boys basketball, however, opportunities to win a state championship have been fleeting.
There was the 1945 team, coached by Dan Jones, that reached the state final before falling to Washington. Sixty-three years passed before legendary coach Mike Doherty guided the Pioneers back to the championship game, finishing runner-up to Grant in 2008.
This week, though, Oregon City's boys can break through in the OSAA/OnPoint Community Credit Union 6A tournament at the Chiles Center. Holding the No. 3 seed and a 24-2 record, the Pioneers are a legitimate threat to claim the blue trophy.
“I think we have the best chance of anyone else. I'm super excited,” Pioneers junior wing Eli Hopkins said. “Winning 24 games is something special, and we had a special team to do it with. Everyone's been working so hard. We're ready to play.”
The season already has been a success for Oregon City. The Pioneers won their first league title since 2018 – sharing the Three Rivers League crown with Tualatin – and earned their first state tournament berth since 2019. The 24 wins is tied for the second most in school history (1937, 1945), behind only the 2008 team, which finished 28-2.
Coach Aaron Newkirk, who assisted Doherty with the 2008 team and took over as coach in 2012-13, knows that the Pioneers have the pieces to contend for the big prize.
“Do we have an opportunity? Yes,” Newkirk said. “Is it going to be very difficult? Yes. There's a reason why you've played 100 years of basketball and never won one. You have to be playing well at the right time and you have to be a little lucky.”
Oregon City is 6-1 against the other quarterfinalists, holding two wins each over No. 6 Jesuit and No. 8 Clackamas, one win over No. 10 Grant and a split with No. 4 Tualatin. The Pioneers' only losses are 63-61 to top-seeded Southridge, which lost to No. 17 Benson in the round of 16, and 59-55 to Tualatin.
Oregon City won at Tualatin 66-64 in the first round of league play and was riding high before losing to the Timberwolves at home Feb. 5.
“We kind of thought we were a little untouchable going into that game,” Hopkins said. “We had only lost one game, and we were on a hot streak. But it kind of gave us the realization that, 'Oh, shoot, we're human.' That was good for us to get us back on the right track.”
Oregon City returned seven rotation players from a team that finished 18-7 and reached the round of 16, including three starters in the 6-foot-6 Hopkins, 6-2 senior guard Alijah Scott and 6-6 junior wing Alarion Scott.
“We've got multiple guys with a lot of postseason experience,” Newkirk said.
This season, Hopkins and Alijah Scott made the Three Rivers first team and Alarion Scott and 6-6 senior post Connor Lemmon made the second team. Senior point guard Madden Sendek (6-2) was named the league's defensive player of the year.
The Pioneers have four players that average in double figures in scoring in Hopkins, Alijah Scott, Alarion Scott and Lemmon.
“Teams just can't focus on one player,” Newkirk said. “It takes a lot of pressure off our offense. It puts the pressure on the defense. We can play fast with teams and we can slow it down. Sometimes you have to grind it out, and sometimes you have to play in the open court. We have that flexibility.”
Oregon City meets Jesuit (20-7) in a quarterfinal on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. The Pioneers beat the Crusaders 63-58 and 46-39 in December.
“Both times we played them we were down and had to scrap through to get the win,” Hopkins said.
Newkirk knows that beating Jesuit a third time will be a difficult chore.
“Nobody has more respect for them than we do,” Newkirk said. “Both times we played them it could've gone either way. Nothing matters from what happened two months ago.
“It's almost like a league opponent since you've played them twice. But it's been a long time, and watching them now, they're a little bit different.”
Boys quarterfinals, Wednesday, Chiles Center
No. 17 Benson, (21-6) vs. No. 8 Clackamas (18-9), 1:30 p.m.: Both teams are riding the momentum of dramatic wins in the round of 16. Benson stunned top-seeded Southridge 74-73 in overtime on a three-pointer at the buzzer by freshman guard Kendall Hopkins-McGlothen, avenging a 25-point loss to the Skyhawks in January.. Clackamas got a three-pointer from junior guard R.J. Barhoum with five seconds left in the second overtime to beat rival Nelson 74-72. Benson is in the state tournament for the first time since 2012, when it made the 5A semifinals. It's Clackamas' first berth since 2020, when the tournament was canceled by COVID. The 6-3 Hopkins-McGlothen, who scored 49 points in two playoff wins, is Benson's leading scorer at 18.6. He and junior guard Richad Hudson made the PIL first team. The Astros, who have won 11 in a row, shared the Portland Interscholastic League title with Grant. They won the last of their five state titles in 1990. The 6-5 Barhoum, who scored 26 points in the win over Nelson, is averaging a team-high 19.4 points. He made the Mt. Hood Conference first team along with 6-6 senior forward Syrius Owens (13.8 points, 10.2 rebounds, 2.0 blocks), the MHC defensive player of the year. Owens transferred to Clackamas from Roosevelt, where he played for the 6A runner-up Roughriders in 2024. The Cavaliers have never won a title, finishing second in 1994 and 2017.
No. 5 Sherwood (23-4) vs. No. 4 Tualatin (21-5), 3:15 p.m.: Tualatin, the champion in 2022 and 2023, has made the tournament for the fifth year in a row. The Timberwolves, co-champions in the Three Rivers League with Oregon City, have an explosive backcourt combo with senior Jemai Lake (20.2 points) and junior Pat Vialva Jr. (20.0 points). The 6-2 Lake, the TRL player of the year and a Montana commit, scored 27 and 31 points in the two playoff wins. His brother Josiah, now playing at Oregon State, was a key player on Tualatin's back-to-back title teams. Tualatin is on a 12-game winning streak since a 66-64 loss to Oregon City. The Timberwolves' only other losses to in-state teams this season were 61-56 to top-seeded Southridge and 59-53 to No. 2 Central Catholic. Coach Bubba Lemon is 89-24 in four seasons. Seven-time reigning Pacific Conference champion Sherwood is in the big-school tournament for the first time. The Bowmen last made the state tournament in 5A in 2014, losing in the quarterfinals. They have never won a title. Avery Johnson (18.5 points, 6.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists), a 6-3 junior guard, was the Pacific player of the year. Brody Rygh (17.0 points), a 6-6 senior wing who has committed to Oregon Tech, made the first team. The Bowmen have won 17 in a row.
No. 6 Jesuit (20-7) vs. No. 3 Oregon City (24-2), 6:30 p.m.: The teams played twice in December, with Oregon City prevailing 63-58 in the Sherwood Winter Shootout and 46-39 in the Les Schwab Invitational. In the second game, the Crusaders led 30-21 at half but the Pioneers outscored them 12-0 in the third quarter to pull ahead. Oregon City junior wing Eli Hopkins (6-6) is averaging a team-high 18.0 points and 7.0 rebounds. Senior guard Alijah Scott (13.0 points, 4.0 rebounds), junior wing Alarion Scott (10.0 points, 7.0 rebounds) and senior post Connor Lemmon (10.0 points) also are averaging in double figures. Jesuit coach Gene Potter is 689-329 with seven state titles in 34 seasons at the school. It is the 20th 20-win season and 25th trip to the tournament site for Potter, who is No. 8 on the state's career wins list. The Crusaders, runners-up to Barlow last year, won their last state title in 2019. They returned two starters from last season in senior guards Joe Stimpson (11.6 points), a Metro League first-team pick and the defensive player of the year, and Ryan Barone (11.8 points), who shot 40.2 percent on three-pointers (69 for 169). Stimpson is committed to Nevada for football. Jesuit's leading scorer is 6-0 junior guard Major Williams (14.5 points).
No. 10 Grant (19-7) vs. No. 2 Central Catholic (22-5), 8:15 p.m.: Central Catholic, the Mt. Hood Conference champion, won the state title in 2024 and lost to Jesuit in the quarterfinals last year. All three of the Rams' first-team all-conference picks played in the 2024 final, senior guard Zamir “Bam” Paschal (6-1) as a starter and senior guard Robbie Long III (6-4) and senior wing Jalen Nicholson (6-7) off the bench. Paschal (17.0 points, 6.0 rebounds), the Mt. Hood player of the year, had 13 points, 10 rebounds and 13 assists in the round of 16 against Forest Grove. Long and Nicholson are putting up 16 points per game. Junior wing Isaac Bongen (6-4) transferred from Jesuit, where he played on the state runner-up team last year. The Rams' only loss to an Oregon team came against top-seeded Southridge, which defeated them 76-72 in December. They have won 14 in a row. PIL co-champion Grant, which starts four sophomores and one freshman, has arguably the state's most impressive collection of young talent. Jacob Harper-Grant (21.0 points, 4.5 rebounds) and Jamarea Sanders (17.6 points, 5.7 rebounds, 2.0 steals), 6-5 sophomore guards, made the PIL first team. Malik Mason (16.2 points, 6.4 rebounds, 3.0 assists), a 6-6 sophomore guard, made the second team. The Generals have four wins after trailing by 15 points. Since winning the 2018 title, Grant has made the tournament twice, losing in the quarterfinals in 2019 and 2024.
Girls quarterfinals, Thursday, Chiles Center
No. 9 West Salem (17-10) vs. No. 1 Tualatin (25-1), 1:30 p.m.: Tualatin claimed its first state title last year, rallying from a 19-point, third-quarter deficit to stun Jazzy Davidson-led Clackamas 63-58 in the final behind 26 points from point guard Love Lei Best. Now a sophomore, the 5-7 Best has collected 28 Division I scholarship offers. The Three Rivers League player of the year is averaging 15.1 points, 5.0 assists and 4.1 steals. The Timberwolves brought back four starters from last season in Best, 6-0 sophomore forward Kendall Dawkins (12.9 points, 7.6 rebounds) and senior guards Maaya Lucas (10.8 points, 5.2 rebounds) and Ries Miadich (6.5 points). They suffered a blow Feb. 3 when 6-0 senior post Alex Padilla, signed with Portland State, tore her ACL in a game at West Linn. Coach Wes Pappas calls Padilla the state's best defensive player. For the 13th time in 17 seasons, Pappas' zone defense has yielded the fewest amount of points per game in 6A, holding foes to 33.4. Tualatin's only loss came against California power Etiwanda. The Timberwolves' resume includes a 74-71 win over AC Davis, which repeated as Washington's big-school champion last week, and two wins over No. 2 West Linn. Tualatin won at West Salem 65-45 in its season opener. West Salem, the Central Valley Conference champion, is making its second state tournament appearance, the other coming in 2023, when it lost in the quarterfinals. The Titans are led by Portland State-bound senior forward Emma Zuniga (16.0 points), the CVC co-player of the year. The 5-10 Zuniga had 37 points and 16 rebounds in the two playoff wins. She was joined on the CVC first team by senior Samantha Griffin (13.0 points). West Salem is missing two CVC second-team selections in sophomore guard Lilea Burns (ACL) and sophomore post Tamara Kosso-Quaye (sprained knee).
No. 5 Sherwood (24-3) vs. No. 4 South Medford (24-2), 3:15 p.m.: South Medford has made the tournament for the 14th time in 15 seasons, missing only in 2018. The Panthers appeared in five finals in that span, winning titles in 2012 and 2024. Coach Tom Cole is 412-108 in 19 seasons with the team. South Medford has three players from the 2024 champion in 6-3 senior post Mayen Akpan (14.0 points, 10.8 rebounds, 3.0 steals) and senior guards Dyllyn Howell (17.4 points, 3.4 assists, 3.0 steals) and Jordan Barlow (14.5 points, 3.6 assists, 3.0 steals). Howell is the Southwest Conference player of the year and Barlow was the defensive player of the year. The San Diego State-bound Akpan, who set a 6A tournament record with 51 rebounds in 2024, returned to the lineup last month after missing five weeks with a concussion. The Panthers have three others college commits in Howell and Barlow, both headed to Sacramento State, and senior guard Malia Taulani, who is going to Division II Metro State (Colo.). South Medford's only loss to an Oregon team was a 65-53 defeat to No. 2 West Linn. The Panthers defeated Washington big-school champion AC Davis 83-78 in December. Sherwood last appeared in a state tournament in 2014, its final season in 5A before moving up. The Bowmen have made dramatic improvement after going 10-15 last season. Tenley Bozeman, a 6-2 senior forward who has committed to the Colorado School of Mines, leads the team in scoring (15.8), rebounding (8.7) and blocks (2.9). The team is bolstered by two standout freshmen in 5-10 guards Zoe Sanders (11.2 points, 5.9 assists, 3.6 rebounds, 3.5 steals) and Audrey Poulivaati (7.8 points, 2.9 steals), a defensive stopper. Bozeman and Sanders made the Pacific Conference first team.
No. 11 Oregon City (18-8) vs. No. 3 Benson (24-2), 6:30 p.m.: Benson has reached the final three times in the last decade, winning in 2019 and falling in 2018 and 2024. The Astros appear to have a solid chance again this year behind three PIL first-team picks in 5-9 senior forward Samarah Massey (player of the year), 6-2 sophomore post Jayla Lackey and 5-7 sophomore point guard Kemara Phillips. The powerful Massey, a fourth-year starter, has more than 1,500 career points. The left-handed Lackey, a crafty post scorer, participated in the USA Women's U16 National Team trials last year. Benson is unbeaten against Oregon teams, losing only to California teams Etiwanda and Mater Dei. The Astros lost 69-64 to Etiwanda, the only team to beat Tualatin this season. Oregon City, which has a state-high 12 championships, is in the tournament for the first time since a second-place finish in 2017. The Pioneers feature junior guard Livie Carns (17.6 points, 3.1 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 3.3 steals) and senior guard Reese Weygandt (10.6 points, 3.0 steals), who have committed to Lewis & Clark and George Fox, respectively. Carns was a Three Rivers League first-team selection. Oregon City has a first-year coach in Kevin Baumbach, a former Mountainside boys assistant.
No. 10 Nelson (21-6) vs. No. 2 West Linn (23-3), 8:15 p.m.: West Linn has two in-state losses, both to Three Rivers League rival Tualatin, 63-52 and 61-53. West Linn handed South Medford its only Oregon loss, defeating the Panthers 65-53. After making the quarterfinals last year, the Lions returned intact. They are led by Washington State-bound 5-9 senior guard Reese Jordan (14.6 points, 8.8 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 2.3 steals) and 5-8 junior guard Kaylor Buse (14.8 points, 6.4 rebounds, 5.4 assists, 2.7 steals). Both were first-team all-league, with Buse earning defensive player of the year honors. Buse had 18 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in a first-round playoff win over Jefferson. Buse has two sisters on the team, twin Kyla and sophomore Kinley. The Lions have played in one final, losing to St. Mary's Academy in 1985. Nelson, a program that started in 2021-22, is playing in its first state tournament. The Hawks won the Mt. Hood Conference, ending Clackamas' 58-game conference winning streak in the process. Junior post Love Forde (6-2), a third-year starter, had 35 points and 23 rebounds in two playoff wins. Forde averages 9.9 points and 6.1 rebounds Junior guard Nylah Webster, the daughter of former Portland Trail Blazer Martell Webster and the niece of Benson coach Precious Alex, leads the team in scoring (12.3) and three-point shooting (44 for 120, 36.7 percent). Webster made four three-pointers and scored 15 points as the Hawks won at No. 7 Southridge in the round of 16. Nelson has won 19 in a row after a 2-6 start.
jerryu@osaa.org
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