West Linn races past Jesuit 65-46, earns state title berth: 6A Oregon boys basketball state tournament recap

  • 03/14 - 3:15 PM Boys BasketballFinal
    Jesuit 46
    West Linn 65
Complete Box Score »

PORTLAND – Talent. Size. Experience. Confidence.

The top-ranked West Linn boys basketball team seems to have it all and showed off most of those attributes in its 65-46 win over Jesuit in the Class 6A state semifinals at the Moda Center on Friday.

The win sent the team back to the state championship game for the second straight season. There, the Lions beat Sheldon 67-56 on Saturday to finish the year at 25-4 and extend their winning streak to 20 games.

“I just thought we came out and attacked them very hard right from the beginning of the game,” said West Linn junior Anthony Mathis, who finished with 15 points and six rebounds against Jesuit. “That helped us a lot down the stretch.”

“Early on, our game plan was to push the ball and get an early lead,” added Lion sophomore Payton Pritchard, who led all scorers with 18 points and also had five rebounds and five assists. “After that … we kept our lead up the whole game and pulled it out.”

For the No. 5 Crusaders, the loss dropped the team's season record to 18-9 and marked a second straight season with a loss in the semifinals.

“We knew they were a good team. We knew they were going to make shots,” said Jesuit senior Daniel Nelson, who had three points, five rebounds and three steals. “We just had to answer, and unfortunately we couldn't tonight.”

The game started at a virtual snail’s pace, with Jesuit playing deliberately, leading 4-0 early on and keeping the Lions off the scoreboard until Kevin Edwards hit a jumpshot 3 minutes and 11 seconds into the contest.

The Lions made sure, however, that the pace quickened soon after. They outscored the Crusaders 21-7 the rest of the quarter to lead 21-11, with Pritchard scoring seven in that stretch and CJ Sitton adding two three-pointers in the final 1:10 of the frame.

Jesuit made no inroads in the second quarter either. The Lions boosted their lead to 35-17 when Pritchard buried a “three” with 1:40 remaining before the half. West Linn’s Ryan Shearmire broke free for six of his 14 points in the period to give the Lions a 37-20 advantage at the break.

The Crusaders got no closer than 13 points in the third quarter – at 40-27 on a Henry Mondeaux shot – and saw the Lions pull away from there, their lead eventually cresting at 25 in the fourth quarter.

"We saw Bishop Gorman in the (Les Schwab Invitational) and I think West Linn is second behind them as far as talented teams that we've played," Nelson added.

If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.