Wilsonville boys basketball withstands Redmond, advances to 5A semifinals

By Jackson Naugle, The Wilsonville Spokesman, 3-6-24

The Wilsonville boys basketball team advanced into the semifinal round at the 2024 OSAA 5A Basketball State Championships at Linfield University on Wednesday, March 6, thwarting a gritty effort by Redmond to win 56-51 and preserve its chances of repeating as state champion. 

Senior Kallen Gutridge led the way for the Wildcats, scoring several clutch buckets in the second half on his way to a game-high 27 points on 10-of-13 shooting. 

Kyle Counts and Emmitt Fee added 10 points apiece for Wilsonville, which improved to 24-3 on the season with the win, while Redmond dropped to 18-9. 

In the first quarter, the Wildcats’ defense did what it does best, smothering the Panthers on their way to an early 12-4 lead. From there, the Panthers cut the deficit to 14-11 on a 7-2 run, but Gutridge drilled a three as time expired on the period to keep Wilsonville ahead by six. 

In the second frame, the Wildcats gave up 18 points to let the Panthers back into the game, taking just a 30-29 lead into the halftime break. 

By the time the contest reached the end of the third quarter, Redmond had knotted the game at 43 and stolen the momentum of the gym, but Wilsonville did well to weather the storm. 

The Wildcats opened the fourth quarter with the same defensive intensity they used at the beginning of the game, trading multiple stops with the Panthers before a crowd-pleasing block by Counts put the ball back in the hands of Wilsonville, nursing a 48-46 lead. 

From there, Redmond turned the Wildcats over and Wyatt Horner tied the game at 48 with just over four minutes to go. Then, Counts scored a bucket on a nice dish from Gutridge before Horner drilled a clutch three-pointer to go back ahead 51-50. 

With his back against the wall, Gutridge delivered a clutch turnaround bucket with just over a minute left to play to push Wilsonville in front 52-51. Then, the next time down the floor, the senior made another nifty pass to Counts, who extended the lead to 54-51 inside. 

From there, Redmond’s desperation jump-shots couldn’t find the bottom of the net, and the Wildcats advanced to the semifinal round. 

While Gutridge scored 19 of his game-high 27 in the second half, senior guard Nick Colyer added five points and four assists for Wilsonville, while Horner led the way for the Panthers with 19 points. 

With the win, the Wildcats advance to take on league foe Putnam in the semifinals on Friday, March 8, while Redmond falls into the consolation bracket, where it will meet third-seeded North Eugene. 

Wilsonville isn’t set to tip until 3:15 p.m., while the Panthers will get going at 10:45 a.m.