Crane holds off Redsides for first state title

Published 9:29 am Sunday, March 6, 2022

With the pressures starting to stack up on their shoulders, the Crane Mustangs shrugged off the weight and soared.

Facing the prospect of capping a perfect season with the school’s first boys basketball state championship, the Mustangs responded to a valiant rally by South Wasco County to finish the Class 1A title game with a 12-3 run that gave Crane a 62-53 victory before a packed crowd Saturday night, March 5, in the Baker High School gym.

“This is a feeling I’ve never felt before,” Eric Nichols, Crane’s second-year head coach, said as Mustang fans thronged the court in jubilation. “These boys,” he said, his voice trailing away as though he couldn’t summon the words to describe their accomplishment. “It’s a great group.”

Crane’s first boys state title didn’t come easily, or without drama.

The Mustangs led 21-12 after the first quarter, but then South Wasco County’s electrifying senior guard, Oscar Thomas, took over.

Thomas scored 12 straight points for the Redsides in the second quarter as South Wasco closed to within 30-24. Thomas scored both inside, with a couple of tough runners in traffic, and with a pair of 3-pointers.

South Wasco’s Ian Ongers scored the first two baskets of the third quarter to get the Redsides to within 34-32, the closest they had been since the first quarter.

Crane’s Jared Zander swished a 16-footer to push the Mustangs’ lead back to 41-36, but Thomas hit another 3-pointer and then found Ongers with a nifty pass for a basket that tied the score at 41 with 2:50 left in the third quarter.

Crane responded with a 6-0 run capped by Zander’s 3-pointer, and Crane freshman Cody Siegner scored inside to boost the lead to 49-42 at the end of the third quarter.

Siegner also scored the first basket of the fourth period to push the lead to 51-42.

But the Redsides responded with a quick 8-0 spurt, capped by Brock LaFaver’s inside basket that cut the lead to 51-50 with 5:31 left.

It was almost all Crane after that.

Sophomore point guard Carter Nichols (the coach’s son) weaved his way inside and lofted a shot over 6-foot-6 LaFaver, off the glass and through. Nichols also drew a foul and made the free throw to give Crane a 54-50 lead.

Zander then made consecutive 3-pointers in a little more than a minute, the second, from the left corner, giving Crane a 60-52 lead with 3 minutes left.

Zander, a junior who had four 3-pointers overall and led Crane with 16 points, credited his teammates for making his two key shots possible.

“They found the open guy and it happened to be me,” he said.

Nichols had 15 points for Crane. Siegner and Mitch Clark added 11 each.

Eric Nichols said South Wasco was “outstanding,” but he credited his team for responding to every Redsides rally.

“These guys answered the bell,” Nichols said. “It’s a team effort. Team basketball.”

The Powder Valley boys basketball team placed fifth in the Class 1A boys state tournament.

After beating Nixyaawii 60-45 in a quarterfinal game on Wednesday, March 2, the Badgers lost to South Wasco County 59-40 on Friday, March 4.

The Badgers struggled offensively, shooting just 22% for the game, 13 of 59, including just 1 of 13 3-pointers.

South Wasco, meanwhile, made 50% of its field goals in the first half and ended up at 46% for the game, on 23 of 50, including 9 of 16 3-pointers.

Cole Martin led Powder Valley with 13 points.

In the 3rd-place game on Saturday morning, March 5, Powder Valley lost 61-44 to Crosshill Christian.

Powder Valley’s shooting woes carried over from Friday’s game, as the Badgers made 18 of 61 shots against Crosshill Christian, 29.5%. The Badgers missed all seven of their 3-point tries in the first half, while Crosshill Christian made 6 of 9 in racing to a 37-20 lead at halftime.

Cole Martin led Powder Valley with 14 points.

The Badgers finished the season with a 24-4 record.

Based on records from the Oregon School Activities Association (OSAA), Crane is the first Class 1A school to win the boys and girls state basketball championship in the same season.

Girls tournaments date to 1976. The first tournament for the state’s smallest high schools — then known as the B division — was in 1977. For more than 20 years there were four divisions — AAA, AA, AA and B, later reconfigured as 4A, 3A, 2A and 1A. Two new classifications — 5A and 6A — were added for the state’s larger schools in 2006.

Crane joins these schools in winning both girls and boys state basketball titles in the same year:

• LaSalle (Milwaukie), 1981 (AA) and 1984 (AA)

• Stayton, 1995 (3A)

• Jefferson, 2010 (5A)

• Portland Christian, 2010 (2A)

• Jesuit, 2011 (6A)