Beaverton beats Southridge in 6A quarterfinals after going 0-3 vs. Skyhawks in regular season: ‘We got ‘em when it matters’

Aidan Rice has 22 points and Chance Winter scores 16 to help send Beavers to OSAA boys basketball semifinals

Paul Valencia | Mar 7, 2024

The Beaverton Beavers had to be sick and tired of the Southridge Skyhawks.

All season long, Beaverton couldn’t figure out Southridge.

Well, that was the regular season.

Come playoff time, the Beavers arrived.

Beaverton used a 14-0 run in the first quarter to take the lead for good, then held off a Southridge rally to beat the Skyhawks 64-56 in the quarterfinals of the OSAA 6A boys basketball state tournament Wednesday at the University of Portland's Chiles Center.

Beaverton, now 18-9, was 0-3 against Southridge in the regular season.

The Beavers are 1-0 against Southridge in March.

“In practice, all the time, we were talking about how we need to go get them when it matters,” said Chance Winter, a 6-11 post who had 16 points, eight rebounds and five blocked shots. “What has happened, happened. The Chiles Center is a totally different thing. It doesn’t matter what you did pre-Chiles Center. What happens here is what matters, and we went and got them.”

Almost from start to finish, too.

A blocked shot by Ahmed Abalo started a fast break that ended when Max Elmgren found Winter on a perfect alley-oop pass for a slam. That was in the middle of the big early run.

Winter finished the first quarter with another dunk. This time, though, it was not as planned. Winter’s pass to a teammate was knocked away, then bounced off a couple of hands before the ball found its way back to Winter, who by then had a wide open lane to the hoop for the slam.

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Just like that it was 23-9 Beavers, and the Beaverton student section was feeling the vibe that the No. 7 team could take down the No. 2 Skyhawks.

It started with defense. Winter and Abalo combined for eight blocks.

“We know we can get up there and contest shots,” said Winter, who missed the first two games against Southridge this season because of injury. “Me and Ahmed were able to showcase what we could do.”

Aidan Rice took over on offense for Beaverton in the second half, scoring 16 of his game-high 22 points.

Beaverton led by 16 points in the fourth quarter, but Southridge (24-4) was not about to go away without a fight.

The Skyhawks went on a 14-2 run, led by Alonzo Hoff and Carter Fortune, to make it 54-50 with 2:38 to play.

Rice found Winter at the 2-minute mark to go up by six, and that was followed by two free throws by Fortune to make it a four-point game again.

Then, the shot of the night.

The Beavers worked the shot clock to perfection. Or did they? The offense got the ball to Rice, but he was a long way from the hoop.

“That type of shot, I know I’ve put in the work, the countless hours in the gym,” Rice said. “My teammates trust me to take that shot, a big shot in a game like that.”

He was 30-plus feet from the basket, though.

“I knew time and scenario. I knew I had to shoot it,” Rice said. “I was confident in my shot. It went down, which is always good to see.”

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That pushed the lead to seven with a little more than a minute to play.

The Skyhawks did not get closer than five the rest of the way, with Beaverton going 5 for 6 from the line in the final 22 seconds.

“It means everything. Last year we got knocked out by Tualatin. We were chasing to not have that feeling again,” Winter said. “We all remember what that feeling felt like, and we weren’t going to do that again.”

Winter finished 8 for 13 from the field. Rice was 8 for 14 and had three assists. Abalo had 10 points, three blocks and two assists. The Beavers shot 53 percent from the field and held Southridge well below its average of more than 70 points per game.

Fortune led Southridge with 14 points and eight rebounds. Keenen Reckamp had 11 points. He made three 3-pointers. Hoff finished with nine points and three assists.

Southridge will return to the Chiles Center on Thursday morning to play in the consolation bracket. The Skyhawks will take on No 11 Grant at 10:45 a.m. in the fourth-place semifinals. The winner will play in a trophy game Saturday.

Beaverton will get a day off before returning for the championship semifinals. The Beavers will face No. 3 Roosevelt at 3:15 p.m. Friday.

The Beavers probably have already turned their focus to the semifinals. But right after the quarterfinal win, they were still thinking about what they had just accomplished.

“Southridge-Beaverton. Big rivalry,” Rice said. “The fourth time’s the charm, I guess. We got ‘em when it matters.”