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Les Schwab Invitational high school basketball scoreboard: First round top performers, best storylines

La Lumiere, Gonzaga College, Owyhee roll in first round

Andy Buhler

Les Schwab Invitational trophies award the top team in the long-running 16-team tournament in Portland, Oregon.
Les Schwab Invitational trophies award the top team in the long-running 16-team tournament in Portland, Oregon. / Photo by Naji Saker, SBLive Sports

PORTLAND, Oregon — The Les Schwab Invitational, the Pacific Northwest's crown jewel high school boys basketball holiday showcase, is underway in Portland.

The first round continues on Friday as nationally ranked La Lumiere (Indiana), Gonzaga College (D.C.) and Idaho powerhouse Owyhee make their tournament debuts.

The 16-team annual event pits the top programs in Oregon against a crop of nationally relevant teams from around the country. All game are being played at Portland State's Viking Pavilion in the downtown Park Blocks — a new venue for the first time in decades.

>> Top 20 high school basketball players in 2024 Les Schwab Invitational

The first round tipped on Thursday with an all-Oregon matchup slate and wraps Friday night as all the out-of-state teams debut.

Scroll down for game-by-game updates, top performers, notes and more:

FIRST ROUND RESULTS

LA LUMIERE 57, BAKER 35

GONZAGA COLLEGE 68, LIBERTY 36

ANNIE WRIGHT 52, NELSON 47: Indiana State signee Martin Kaupinger poured on a game-high 18 points and Jeremiah Harshman added a 10-point, 10-board double-double to lift the dark-horse Gators past Nelson to advance to the quarterfinals. The Gators led by 11 at half and withstood a fourth quarter in which Nelson outscored them 22-8. Nelson was let by Zaden Richardson (16 points) and Jaiden Pickett (15 points).

OWYHEE 78, GRANT 61: The first-ever Idaho entrant into the LSI impressed in its debut. Jayce Allen had a game-high 18 points, Rice commit Boden Howell, a South Medford transfer who grew up attending LSIs as a young fan, had 15 points and five boards. Owyhee, the darling Idaho prep powerhouse, entered

CENTRAL CATHOLIC 77, MOUNTAINSIDE 56: Oregon's defending 6A state champs sure looked the part. Wake Forest commit Isaac Carr dropped 25 points on a stage he's shined on in recent years, and Zamir Paschal went for 13 points. Mountainside had four double-digit scorers, led by Rogen Brown's 15 points.

WESTVIEW 64, CAMAS 58: Four Wildcats finished in double-figures, headlined by 16 apiece from James Kefgen (who hit four 3s) and Jason Grady (who added seven boards) and 13 from Kai Russell. Versatile Camas wing Ethan harris had a team-high 17, seven boards and four assists, but was dared to let it fly from deep and did so on a 3 of 12 clip. Jace VanVoorhis added 14 points and six.

SOUTHRIDGE 68, ROOSEVELT 64: Southridge was challenged into the final minute but prevailed thanks to a pair of 19-point, seven-rebound performances from Keenan Reckamp and Alonzo Huff. The Skyhawks overcame a strong outing from standout guard Fuzzy Montague to stay in the winner's bracket.

JESUIT 67, BARLOW 58: LSI legend Jalen Atkins dropped 25 points and hit 11 of 12 free throws, but it wasn't enough to overcome Patrick Kilfoil (20 points), Isaac Bongen (12 points) and Jesuit on Thursday night.

QUARTERFINAL SCHEDULE

Westview vs. Annie Wright, 4 p.m.

Owyhee vs. Gonzaga/Lakeridge, 5:30 p.m.

Jesuit vs. Central Catholic, 7:30 p.m.

Southridge vs. La Lumiere/Baker, 7:30 p.m.

TOP STORYLINES

Owyhee putting on for Idaho

Before he moved a state over to play for Idaho's upstart powerhouse, Boden Howell was just a South Medford kid with hoop dreams — and early trips to the Les Schwab Invitational offered sky-high inspiration.

"I remember my first time ever coming up waetching West Linn and Payton Pritchard," Howell, a Rice commit, said.

Years later, he's leading Idaho's first entrant into the long-running showcase — and no slouch, at that.

The 6-foot-5 point guard helped Owyhee win its second Idaho 5A state championship in the program's third year in existence last spring.

As the tournament approached, Howell's role continued to grow.

With Liam Campbell graduated and playing at Saint Mary's, and fellow Oregon-to-Idaho wagoneer Jackson Rasmussen transferred over to Utah Prep to play alongside national top prospect AJ Dybantsa, Howell saw plenty of

"With the loss of a high-major player and our big who last year we kind of rode on, we kind of came together and I knew I had to step up a little bit," Howell said. "But why I think our group is so special is we all had to come together and play better basketball, trust one another. All of us had to step up."

Annie Wright fancies itself a dark horse

Annie Wright has been building toward Washington small-school dominance since its program resurgence in recent years. The Gators hit a critical juncture in that journay last March when it reached the WIAA Class 1A state title in Yakima, losing at the buzzer to state powerhouse Zillah.

So when national power Long Island Lutheran, led by Syracuse commit Kiyan Anthony, dropped out of the field and the region's premiere holiday tournament needed a last-minute replacement?

Annie Wright thought, why not us?

"Rankings don't matter," Martin Kaupinger, Indiana State commit, said. "I've played against a ton of dudes who are ranked, starred, and I just know it doesn't matter. It's who shows up to play that day."

The Gators (6-0) took down preseason Washington big-school state favorite Rainier Beach 64-70 to open the season. And they insist they are not done.

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-- Andy Buhler | andy@scorebooklive.com | @AndyBuhler

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Andy Buhler
ANDY BUHLER

Andy Buhler is a Portland, Oregon-based sportswriter with more than nine years of experience covering high school sports across the country. He's covered the likes of Paolo Banchero and Tari Eason, served on state tournament seeding committees and launched the SBLive/Sports Illustrated Power 25 national boys basketball rankings. He has covered everything from the Final Four, MLS in Atlanta to local velodrome before diving into the world of preps. His bylines can be found in The News Tribune (Tacoma, Washington), The Associated Press, The Columbian (Vancouver, Washington), The Oregonian and more. He holds a journalism degree from Gonzaga.

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