Playing inside a sweltering Tim Wilson Gymnasium on the campus of Linfield University in McMinnville, No. 3 Parkrose boys basketball senior Adrian “Fuzzy” Montague was feeling the effects.
Early in the fourth with his Broncos leading No. 6 Canby in the quarterfinals of the OSAA/OnPoint Community Credit Union 5A state tournament, Montague, the NWOC Player of the Year, went down with some severe cramps.
Montague was able to get it stretched out, but the Cougars had closed the gap to 63-57 Parkrose with 2 minutes, 16 seconds to go.
However, Montague and his band of Broncos did what they did all night when the game got close. They forced a couple turnovers and turned it into quick points on the other end.
The last of which ended with a pass from Montague to fellow senior Varryk Hardges who hit a layup through contact and completed the and-one to put the nail in the coffin.
Parkrose eventually ran out the clock and took home the win 70-59 to advance to the semifinals against No. 15 Centennial at 3:15 p.m. Friday, March 13.
“Man, Fuzzy, that is a dawg,” Parkrose senior Keion James said. “That’s like my best friend. He just can do anything, shoot, layup, crossover. He can do it all and he did a great job this game.”
“I just know the impact of the game, and (Montague) impacted the game on both ends with his leadership,” Parkrose first-year head coach Kendrick Williams said. “He fought through some leg cramping, I really don’t sub him, he’s in great shape. Terrific kid, just happy for him, he played a great game tonight and led us to the victory.”
Canby, the lone 5A team to beat Parkrose this season, certainly wasn’t afraid of the matchup.
Senior guard Jaxon Lawson was feeling it from the beginning, hitting three 3-pointers in the first quarter that helped keep the Cougars close, down only 18-17.
In the second though, the speed and agility of the Parkrose defense started to make the plays that have defined its whole, dominant season.
“Our defense was out of anger,” Montague said. “We had a lot to owe to them. … We were playing out of anger, trying to play disciplined as much as we can.”
Junior Keone Gates, a transfer from Grant, nailed a corner 3-pointer at the buzzer to put Parkrose up 39-32 at halftime.
That carried into the third where freshman Victor Norris hit a 3-pointer, then the Broncos got two more steals to push ahead 46-32 halfway through the frame.
“It’s the same thing, same basketball, don’t be afraid of the big stage, stick to your principles,” Williams said of the message before the game to a group who hasn’t played much in a state tournament environment. “Play for one another and we’ll be fine.”
Canby, who made the semifinals last season as a No. 14 seed, wasn’t ever going to die though as Lawson drained another three.
Gates picked up his fifth foul, hurting a Parkrose squad that keeps its rotation at six players. The foul came on a three and Cohen Vandecoevering hit all three shots from the charity stripe to make it a 61-54 Parkrose lead.
Montague was back and started to impose his will though, getting to the bucket for a score to make it 63-54.
Vandecoevering responded with a 3-pointer to make it 63-57, and the Cougars got the stop and had the ball with a chance to make it a one possession game.
Instead, Montague got the steal, raced ahead and passed back to Hardges crashing down the lane for the game-sealing three-point play.
“Can’t do it without them,” Montague said of his teammates. “We started as a team and we gotta finish as a team.”
Montague finished with 20 points on 7-for-10 shooting with five rebounds, five assists and three steals. Sophomore Jayden Hall had 14 points and Norris had 11 points with five steals. Gates had 10 points and six rebounds before fouling out, James finished with six points.
Parkrose forced 25 Canby turnovers and only had 12 itself.
For Canby, Lawson finished with 20 points and three assists while Vandecoevering had 11 points and five rebounds. Cooper Cousin had 11 points.
“Feels great, playing with my new guys,” James said. “It’s still lit, but we just gotta focus on the next game.”
Parkrose advances to the semifinals for the first time since 2017 when the Broncos ended up taking third. They haven’t been to the title game since winning the AAA classification in 1982.
Canby drops to the consolation bracket and will play No. 7 North Eugene at 10:45 a.m. Thursday, March 12 at Linfield.
The new blood in the Parkrose program has been noted, but the crew quickly came together to become the title favorites this week.
And if that makes them the villain, Montague and crew are OK with playing the role.
“They doubted us a lot, we had a lot to give back to them,” Montague said. “They doubted us in the rankings and everything that we did, so we had a lot to give.”
More 5A boys quarterfinals highlights
No. 15 Centennial 67, No. 7 North Eugene 59: Both sides traded jabs throughout the nightcap, but Centennial was able to get to the rack all night and hit layups and free throws down the stretch to pull off another upset.
A Jordan Gray 3-pointer helped North Eugene cut into the Eagles lead and make it 56-51 with 4:13 to go.
Drake Walsh scored the next three points on FTs for Centennial and Darius Andrews made one to pump the lead back to 60-51 with 2:04 to go.
Both sides trading buckets from there, which was just fine with the Eagles as they nursed their nine-point lead. Walsh hit two more FTs and JeMel Baker scored a layup with 36 seconds to go up 10 and close the game.
North Eugene shot 60% from deep in a valiant effort. Gray finished with 25 points and five rebounds and was 5-for-5 from deep. Damon Keith added 15 points and nine rebounds.
Dominating in the paint for Centennial was sophomore Dakari Mitchell who had 23 points and 16 rebounds.
“Phenominal, he’s the future,” Centennial head coach Demetrius McQuarn said. “He works so hard. A lot of people slept on him, didn’t think he was that good. He just stays in the gym, staying hungry and staying humble.”
Baker had 22 points and seven rebounds while Walsh chipped in 11 points. Centennial outscored North Eugene in the paint 41-22.
Centennial will get a rematch with NWOC-foe No. 3 Parkrose in the semifinals at 3:15 p.m. Friday, March 13.
North Eugene will take on No. 6 Canby at 10:45 a.m. in the consolation bracket Thursday, March 12.
“We’re so excited, we should have had them at their home we felt,” McQuarn said of the rematch with Parkrose. “I think we are gonna surprise some people come Friday.”
No. 1 Crook County 66, No. 9 Crater 36: Crook County threw the first punch with an 18-6 lead after the frame and put the game away in the second half to advance to the 5A state semifinals.
Senior Jace Jonas scored nine points in the first to help power the early advantage. The Comets played some tougher defense in the second frame to win it 11-9 and ease the deficit at the break to 27-17.
In the third, it was Cowboys junior Uriah Yustat scoring seven points to pump the lead up to 44-27 after three.
Jonas buried two 3-pointers in the fourth to put the game on ice and start the running clock in the 66-36 win. Jonas finished with 24 points while hitting three 3-pointers and grabbing three steals. Senior IMC Player of the Year Bryce Lowenbach was a dominant force as well with 18 points, 13 rebounds, four assists and four blocks. Kenan Twigg added 13 points and seven rebounds.
Julien Grant led the Comets with 16 points and three rebounds.
Crook County advances to the semifinals to play IMC foe No. 5 Summit. The two sides both won at home in their league series this season. Tipoff is set for 1:30 p.m. Friday, March 13 at Linfield University.
Crater falls to the consolation and will play No. 4 Thurston at 9 a.m. Thursday, March 12.
No. 5 Summit 69, No. 4 Thurston 65: Summit found itself up 12 in the fourth quarter and looked to be well on its way to the semifinals, but Thurston never quit.
The Colts quickly chipped away at the lead and pulled with three at 65-62 with 1:07 to go thanks to layup from Brody Corgain.
Foster Kettering was fouled and hit two shots for the Storm, and one more free throw from Collin McMullen made it 68-62 Storm with 13 seconds to go.
Thurston senior Lucas Labounty came down the court and drained a 3-pointer to make it 68-65. But Summit’s Matthew Tompkins hit one of the two free throws with three seconds left to ice the game.
Thurston led after the first quarter 17-15 and at halftime, up 34-29. But a Storm surge in the third quarter gave Summit an 18-6 advantage and a 47-40 lead going into the fourth.
Thurston sophomore Leofatu Filipe had 13 points at halftime to help power the early lead, and he finished with 21 and six rebounds. Labounty had 15 points and 10 rebounds, Treyson Hill chipped in 11 points.
The Storm duo of Kettering and Tompkins dominated in the second half to combine for 24 of their 40 points in the final 16 minutes. Kettering finished with 26 points, 10 rebounds, six assists, five steals and three blocks. Tompkins had 14 points and six rebounds.
Summit, who has made four consecutive state title games (2022 in 6A, last three in 5A), advances to the semifinals to take on IMC-foe No. 1 Crook County. The two split their season series with the rubber match set for 1:30 p.m. Friday, March 13 at Linfield University.
Thurston heads to the consolation bracket and will take on Midwestern League foe No. 9 Crater at 9 a.m. Thursday, March 12.
austinw@osaa.org
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