Crescent Valley has prided itself on being a gritty, smaller team that’s still able to get the job done, and it carried the Raiders all the way to the state tournament.
But being undersized caught up to CV on Thursday night against a Wilsonville squad that has size and skill among its taller players.
The Wildcats broke a tie with the game’s final 10 points over the last three-plus minutes to take a 34-24 win in an OSAA 5A boys basketball state semifinal at Gill Coliseum.
"Those guys have got length, they’re physical, they’re big-bodied guys. We hadn’t gone against a team that had that much size really all season long,” Raiders coach Adam Hastings said. “They forced us into a lot of tough shots. They did a good job of staying vertical and we just couldn’t make enough tonight.”
CV has no starter or contributor taller than 6-foot-2. Wilsonville has nine players at least 6-2 and five at 6-4 or better.
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Senior guard Adam Temesgen had 15 points, including CV’s last nine, to go with three steals.
Heath Carl added four points and five rebounds and Rocco McClave two points, four rebounds, two blocks and two steals for the 15th-seeded Raiders (16-12), who will play for the program’s best-ever state finish when they play fourth-seeded Redmond in the third-place game at 2:15 p.m. Friday.
No CV boys team has ever finished higher than fifth, which is awarded to the loser of the fifth-place game.
Top-seeded Summit defeated Redmond 79-66 in Thursday’s earlier semifinal.
Kallen Gutridge, a 6-4 wing, had 16 points and six rebounds for third-seeded Wilsonville (23-5), which has reached its seventh straight OSAA state championship game. The Wildcats had a 26-19 rebounding advantage.
Wildcats coach Chris Roche had high praise for Crescent Valley, which held his team to 12-of-31 shooting (38.7%). CV was 11 of 36 (30.6).
“They are really good on defense. They are athletic and quick,” Roche said. “They’re not real big, but they’re strong and they defend very well.”
The game was a back-and-forth battle throughout.
Temesgen made it a 7-0 CV run to tie the game at 22-all on his driving layin to open the scoring in the fourth quarter.
Maxim Wu ended a drought of more than six minutes for Wilsonville when his jumper fell with 5:15 left. Surrounded by a forest of taller Wildcats, Temesgen scored inside with 3:29 to tie it again.
Gutridge’s jumper put Wilsonville back in front.
A costly Raiders turnover with 2:35 left allowed the Wildcats to run some clock. Gutridge hit two free throws on a 1-and-1 opportunity with 1:26 to go to make it a four-point game.
On the next possession, McClave missed inside and stole the ball from the rebounder but missed again. Gutridge hit two on the other end to extend to a six-point advantage, and the Raiders couldn’t score again.
“They’re bigger than us, they weigh more than us, physically they’re more imposing. We handed them a few punches as well, until like the last few minutes where they got free throws it was a tie game,” Temesgen said. “I don’t know what else you want from a 15 seed. We worked hard and we’re OK with where we are. Third place tomorrow, we’re going to get it. I can’t wait.”
Crescent Valley got out to a 6-3 lead on baskets by McClave, Temesgen and Carl in what was a low-scoring first half.
The Raiders trailed 10-8 in the second before Temesgen drove for a basket and Carl found Junior Alatorre for a layin. Gutridge scored the last four points of the half on a jumper and a baseline drive to give the Wildcats a 14-12 halftime lead.
The teams combined to shoot 12 of 39 with 16 turnovers in the half.
Wilsonville took its biggest leads of the game at four and then six after scoring the first four points of the second half on Kyle Counts’ steal and basket and Gutridge’s layin.
CV cut it to four on a Carl basket. But the Wildcats answered with a quick 4-1 run to go up seven.
Temesgen scored in transition and was fouled and completed a three-point play to put a dent in the deficit. CV held Wilsonville scoreless over the final three-plus minutes of the third, and Temesgen’s mid-range jumper with two seconds to go in the quarter left the Wildcats with a two-point advantage.
Hastings said the postgame message in the locker room was a simple one: “Be proud of what you’ve done. It’s been an incredible season, and to be able to end with one more game and potentially ending to win is pretty special. They’ve got nothing to hang their head about because it’s something that not a lot of teams get to do.”
Jesse Sowa is a sports reporter at the Albany Democrat-Herald and Corvallis Gazette-Times. You can connect with him on Twitter: @JesseSowaGT.
Jesse Sowa
Sports Reporter
Jesse Sowa is a sports reporter for Mid-Valley Media. He's a track and field nut who enjoys various outdoor activities.
