McKay, South Salem Win 6A Playoff Openers

Story by: Mark Gillman FullAccessSports.com

Salem-News.com SPORTS

SALEM - The Central Valley Conference went 2 for 4 in opening round games of the OSAA 6A Boys Basketball Tournament.

CVC champion McKay and number two seed South Salem picked up victories, while Redmond and Sprague saw their seasons come to an end.

McKay 65, Clackamas 53

Central Valley Conference Champion McKay, led by the 40 points and seven three-pointers of league MVP Greg Plater, advanced to the second round for a home game against McMinnville on Saturday night

The host Scots led 29-21 at half, and outscored Clackamas 9-2 to start the third quarter to take a 38-23 lead. The explosion included a bucket by Jordan Berrier and and seven points on free throws and three pointer by Plater. But the Cavs, led by Robbie Kunke and Jake Mauermann, countered with a 17-6 run of their own the last five minutes of the period to tighten the margin to 44-40.

McKay edged back out to a ten point lead early in the fourth quarter, and Clackamas was forced to foul, sending the Scots to the line 22 times in the final frame. McKay ended up shooting 19 of 30 from the line for the game. Plater was 6-8 from the charity stripe in the fourth, and point guard Izell Guajardo was 7-8.

It was the second time Plater has scored 40 or more points in a game this season. He had 47 points in a win over Redmond. Their Saturday night opponent, McMinnville edged Sunset 59-51 on Wednesday.

You can hear the McMinnville Grizzlies at McKay Royal Scots game live on FullAccessSports.com on Saturday.

Air time will be announced soon.

South Salem 60, North Medford 45

South Salem started fast and never looked back, trouncing the visiting Black Tornado.

South jumped out to a 33-19 lead at the half after a 13-5 scoring advantage in the second quarter. North Medford, the Southwest Conference fourth seed, narrowed the gap to 42-33 at the end of three quarters. But South never let NM any closer after that.

Chris Rodriguez had 21 points for South, and Xavier Cannefax pitched in with 15 for the Saxons.

With the win, South Salem (16-9) travels Saturday to Jesuit, the Metro League champion. The Crusaders had an opening round bye.

Grant 68, Redmond 58

Redmond fell short in a rally against PIL runner-up Grant in a road game in Portland. The Generals got off to a 19-6 lead, but the Panthers narrowed the deficit to 32-20 at half time.

The margin got as small as fourth points in the third quarter, but Grant defensive pressure produced turnovers, and the lead grew back to double digits in the fourth quarter.

Redmond was led by Bo Guthrie, who scored 13 points off the bench. Michael Leunen added 12 points, and Sean Maloney had 10. The Panthers finished the year with an 11-15 record. Grant will play Saturday at Central Catholic

Gresham 47, Sprague 38

The Olympians stayed with the host Gophers for over three quarters before falling to the number two seed out of the Mt. Hood Conference.

The game was tied at 13 at the end of the first quarter, and Gresham forged a 26-22 lead at half. Sprague cut the margin to 35-33 at the end of three quarters, but the Gophers extended the lead midway through the final period, outscoring the Olys 12-5 in the quarter.

Sophomore Brandon Blair had 14 points for Sprague. Chris Weitzel had 12 to lead Gresham.

Sprague ends the year with a 14-11 record. Gresham moves on to face top-ranked Lake Oswego Saturday. The Lakers received a bye in the opening round of play.

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