1 win from perfection: Hot-shooting Summit buries Mountainside in 6A boys basketball semifinal, will face No. 1 Tualatin for all the marbles

“Since we’ve been born, this is what we want: a state championship. For me, I grew up always wanting to be a champion.”

By Paul Valencia | Photos by Dan Brood 

The pursuit of perfection will continue for one more day, to the final day of the Oregon high school boys basketball season.

Summit High School of Bend will be looking for its first state championship, while hoping to complete the perfect season. 

The Storm unleashed a 3-point barrage Friday afternoon, pulling away from Mountainside in a 73-61 victory at the Chiles Center.

Summit, the No. 2 seed, improved to 27-0. The Storm will take on No. 1 Tualatin at 3:15 p.m. Saturday in the championship game of the 2022 OSAA/OnPoint Community Credit Union 6A Boys Basketball State Tournament.

“Since we’ve been born, this is what we want: a state championship,” said sophomore Pearson Carmichael, who came off the bench and scored 12 points for the Storm. “For me, I grew up always wanting to be a champion.”

The Storm had to get there first. 

And they did it with a number of hot hands, making 12 of 24 shots from 3-point range. 

Carson Cox led a balanced attack. He had three 3-pointers and finished with 15 points. Caden Harris had three second-half 3-pointers and ended with 14 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Truman Teuber made three 3-pointers and scored his team’s first 11 points. Julian Mora had 10 points and a game-high seven assists.

Tied after the first quarter, the Storm made five 3-pointers in the second quarter to take an 11-point lead. Carmichael buried his two shots from long range in the final minute of the half.

“I usually come in and shoot a little bit if I can,” Carmichael said nonchalantly.

Ho hum. Another game, another hot shooting night for the Storm.

“It’s normal, honestly,” Carmichael said. “We started off slow, and then our shots started falling.”

Summit had the momentum entering halftime and it carried over for the first few minutes of the second half.

“It felt good just coming out with that kind of intensity,” Carmichael said.

The Storm made three more 3-pointers to push the lead to 14 at 40-26. At that point, Summit had made 10 3-pointers.

Mountainside, though, got something going, while it looked like the Storm were losing their poise.

A foul and then a technical foul led to four quick, easy points for the Mavericks. Dezman Baker scored on the ensuing possession after the free throws to get Mountainside to within eight points. At the 4-minute mark of the third quarter, it was a five-point game.

Gut-check time for Summit.

“The main thing … just keeping the team together, sticking together, do what we do best,” Harris said. “Really go to that, and really stick together. That’s all it was.”

Harris helped the Summit cause by scoring the next basket to end the Mountainside run. Carmichael’s drive and spin move worked to perfection to make it 46-37.

Mountainside would score the next three, but Harris drained a 3-pointer to push the lead back to nine by the end of the quarter.

Mountainside (20-8) never got closer than eight points in the final eight minutes.

Harris said he was never worried, even when the game got tight in the third quarter.

“I just get so lost in the games. Nerves don’t really faze me out there,” he said.

Mountainside coach Dustin Hewitt said playoff pressure might have gotten to his team.

“We were on a roll. We were really playing really, really composed, poised, unselfish,” Hewitt said of previous playoff games. “I think in the first half, we definitely got out of our character. That dug us a hole. Against a team like that, you can’t dig yourself a hole. They’re too hard to come back on.” 

Still, the Mavericks had their chances. Baker and Dimitri Cohen each scored 16 points for Mountainside. Dylan Westlake added 12 points and three assists.

“I told them I was really, really proud of them,” Hewitt said. “I don’t think we even played that well and we had it down to five points at one point in the second half. They hung in there against a team that shot the lights out, that’s really talented.”

Mountainside will play West Linn in the third-place game at 1:30 p.m. Saturday.

Summit, meanwhile, is preparing for its championship game.

“I think it’s going to be fun tomorrow,” Carmichael said. “Tualatin is good. But we’re going to be physical, make our shots, and execute.” 

“They’re a tough team. They’re really tough,” Harris said. “It’s going to be a battle from the start. We’re going to come out, leave everything on the court, and do what we do.”

If all goes well for Summit, it will be the perfect ending to a perfect season.