Oregon (OSAA) 4A boys basketball state tournament: Matchups, players to watch, first impressions for every team

The 4A boys basketball state tournament begins Thursday in Forest Grove

The OSAA 4A boys basketball state tournament begins Thursday at Forest Grove High School. Here is a breakdown of each quarterfinal matchup. 

BRACKET

Photo by Leon Neuschwander: Cascade and Philomath square off in the 2023 Class 4A boys basketball state final at Forest Grove High School. Cascade won, 61-52.

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No. 8 Madras (18-6) vs. No. 1 Cascade (20-4), 1:30 p.m. 

Madras leaders: G Seneca Ball, sr. (24 ppg, 5 rpg, 2.2 apg, 1.9 spg); G Maikel Poland, sr. (14.5 ppg, 3.5 apg, 2 spg); W Skytus Smith, sr. (9.3 ppg, 2.6 apg, 1.9 spg)

First impression: The White Buffaloes lost three times in the opening round (2018, 2022-23) before their 84-70 win over North Marion advanced them to the quarterfinals for the first time since 2015. Coach Nick Brown counted his team’s back-to-back wins against The Dalles and Crook County to open Tri-Valley Conference play as fueling their run to sharing the TVC title with Crook County. Ball, the TVC player of the year, has scored more than 1,200 points in his career. 

Cascade leaders: G Landon Knox, jr. (15.6 ppg, 5.5 apg, 4.1 rpg); F Anthony Best, jr. (14.7 ppg, 9.7 rpg, 2.1 bpg); G Kaiden Ford, jr. (15.4 ppg, 3.5 spg)

First impression: The two-time defending champion Cougars are led by Oregon West Conference player of the year Knox, who returned from a broken foot that sidelined him for most of the nonconference slate. Ford stepped in at point guard during Knox’s absence, and junior Droiy Comstock (10.1 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 3.1 spg) “would be most teams’ No. 1 option if he played for any other team,” coach Justin Amaya said. “He’s a true two-way player.”

No. 5 Philomath (19-6) vs. No. 4 Baker (25-1), 3:15 p.m.

Philomath leaders: G Preston Kramer, sr. (22.3 ppg, 53% FG, 6 rpg, 2.1 apg); F Jacob Peters, sr. (13.4 ppg, 7.9 rpg, 2.7 spg)

First impression: The Warriors reached the final last year as the No. 1 seed — their first title-game appearance since winning the title in 2016 — and punched their return ticket to the state tournament with a 49-37 victory over Marshfield. Coach Blake Ecker has won 393 games and two state titles during his 22 seasons at Philomath, and he sees this team as one that could challenge for a third. “I think some of our preseason games, we really learned that we can play great defensively when we put our minds to it,” he said.

Baker leaders: G Paul Hobson, sr. (12 ppg); G Isaiah Jones, sr. (14 ppg, 6 rpg); G Jaron Long, jr. (3 apg, 3 spg)

First impression: The Bulldogs went 0-2 at last year’s state tournament but return even more loaded for bear. As coach Jebron Jones noted, “The first day of tryouts, the players came in with a greater sense of urgency and a different mindset, a lot more focused. They have worked hard this season as a collective group. We have an extremely balanced scoring attack.” Baker averages a state-leading 72.2 points per game, with its only defeat coming two weeks ago at Cascade before clinching a state tournament berth with a 60-52 win over Newport.

No. 14 Crook County (17-7) vs. No. 6 Marist Catholic (16-7), 8:15 p.m.

Crook County leaders: G Tyson Martinez, sr. (11.1 ppg, 45% 3pt); G Logan Matthews, sr. (11.5 ppg, 4 apg); F Bryce Lowenbach, soph. (13 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 1.4 bpg) 

First impression: The Cowboys, who finished fourth at last year’s state tournament, pulled off the only road win in the first round, going to Seaside and knocking off the Cowapa League champion 46-37. They arrive in Forest Grove on a seven-game win streak that includes a 22-point rout of defending champion Cascade. It was their last loss — at home to The Dalles on Feb. 2 — that coach Jason Mumm considers the turning point to their season. “We had a shift in team mindset after that loss and reinvented ourselves on defense,” he said.

Marist Catholic leaders: G Kai Holmes, soph. (10.9 ppg, 3.7 apg, 1.4 bpg); F Kaden Erlenbush, sr. (8.3 ppg, 5.5 rpg); G Peyton Tyner, sr. (8.1 ppg, 3.4 apg, 2.8 spg)

First impression: The Spartans lost 52-47 to Crook County in last year’s fourth-place game, but with Holmes continuing his rise after a solid freshman season to lead a balanced group (five players score from 7-11 points per game), they are poised to make a deeper run this year. Coach Bart Pollard said a victory over 2023 finalist Philomath at the Warriors’ holiday tournament “galvanized the group and allowed them to see that they are capable of challenging the highest-ranked teams.”

No. 7 Henley (16-7) vs. No. 2 Junction City (21-3), 6:30 p.m.

Henley leaders: F Markus McCreadie, sr. (19.9 ppg, 12.4 rpg, 3.7 bpg); W Owen Harper, sr. (7.9 ppg, 6.2 rpg); F Luke Bennett, sr. (9.6 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 3.4 apg) 

First impression: The Hornets built off last year’s fifth-place state tournament finish to win their third consecutive Skyline Conference title, going 9-1 down the stretch. Several players got a late start to the season after leading the football team to the state championship, and McCreadie missed four weeks after a late-December injury. They’d love to become the first school since Banks (2018-19) to win basketball and football titles in the same school year. “We were able to refocus since we were fully healthy,” coach Luke Hammond said. “Our willingness and ability to defend is what remained constant for us during this run.” 

Junction City leaders: G Cooper Rothenberger, sr. (10 ppg, 9 rpg, 6 apg, 3 spg); G Keivon Riley, sr. (14.5 ppg, 3.5 apg, 3 spg); W Avery Thomas, sr. (10.5 ppg, 5 rpg)

First impression: The Tigers, who beat Henley 64-56 in the third-place game last March, brought in Bart Rothenberger as head coach this season after his father, Craig, retired after 43 seasons and 615 wins. Bart won four state titles in seven years at 1A Mohawk, and with his son Cooper (the only returning starter; he moved to point guard) and Parkrose transfer Thomas leading the way, they haven’t skipped a beat as they seek their first title since 1994. 

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