Wilsonville Wildcats

High School Sports

Boys basketball: Wilsonville overcomes tough Silverton defense to repeat as 5A state champion

Updated: Mar. 12, 2022, 7:59 p.m. | Published: Mar. 12, 2022, 6:30 p.m.

By Scott Sepich | for the Oregonian/OregonLive

The Wilsonville Wildcats boys’ basketball team has won state championships before. But none quite like this.

After a first half that saw the Wildcats score just six points, they finally found a rhythm and rallied to defeat Silverton 34-30 for the title at Gill Coliseum.

The Wildcats defended their 2019 title, which was the last tournament completed because the COVID-19 pandemic canceled tournaments in 2020 and 2021. Wilsonville has won four of the last five 5A championships awarded.

When the final seconds ticked off Saturday, the Wilsonville players and fans joyously gathered on the court to celebrate a title that was three years in the making.

Wildcats coach Chris Roche, who won his fifth title with Wilsonville, said the scene was “what life is supposed to be about.”

“It’s a really intense experience, but it’s so positive with hugs and family and friends,” he said. “Getting back to this is so nice. I’m thankful that we’re back and hopefully we’ll all be healthier and healthier and can enjoy life.”

Wilsonville junior Tristan Davis said his team’s path to the championship was appropriate given how things were left off two years ago. The 2020 tournament was called off before the semifinals, with Wilsonville in the final four alongside Silverton, Crater and Churchill.

“The funny thing is that those are the three teams we beat this week to win,” Davis noted.

Flustered by a suffocating Silverton defense in the first half, Wilsonville (27-2) only attempted nine shots — making two — and committed nine turnovers. The Foxes held the Wildcats scoreless in the second quarter, but only scored two points of their own to take an 11-6 lead into intermission.

“That’s as good a defensive performance as you’ll see at the high school level,” said Silverton coach Jamie McCarty. “We frustrated them and had a lot of good things going.”

“They were quicker and stronger everywhere and it looked really bleak for us,” Roche said. “The only thing that kept us in it was our defense was good enough to be only down by five.”

“Silverton is the best defensive team I’ve ever played against,” Davis said. “At halftime our coach gave us a great speech and we realized we had to do the tough things, rebound and play unselfish basketball.”

The momentum shifted in the decisive third quarter, when the Wildcats outscored Silverton (23-6) 17-6 and took the lead for good. Senior guard Enzo Chimienti ignited the resurgence for Wilsonville, leading the team with 15 points on 6 of 8 shooting in his final high school game. Chimienti made half of Wilsonville’s 12 field goals.

“Enzo is one of the most unselfish kids I’ve ever coached,” Roche said. “There are games where he’ll only take two or three shots, but there are games like this where it’s tough and the ball finds him more and he can do that. As a sophomore he was a borderline JV player and now as a senior he’s the player of the game at the state championship. It’s a great high school story.”

The Wildcats made 10 of 12 shots from the field in the second half, including 3-pointers from Chimienti and first-team all-tournament selection Maxim Wu.

To win a game in which his team only attempted 21 shots defied simple explanation for Roche.

“What I’m proud of is that we were almost as bad as you can be in the first half and we found a way to win in the toughest of situations,” he said. “We finally got the ball moving better and made a concerted effort to attack the gaps.”

Trailing 15-12 three minutes into the third quarter, Wilsonville outscored Silverton 11-2 the rest of the quarter to lead 23-17 through three. The Wilsonville lead reached as many as 10 in the fourth quarter, and the Foxes couldn’t find enough consistent offense to come back.

“They made adjustments and got it down low for six or eight points and when you only score 30 yourself that’s the difference,” said McCarty. “I thought we had some really good looks in the second half and they didn’t go in.”

Silverton, which started five seniors, was led by the 11 points of guard Jordan McCarty. Ryan Redman-Brown added nine points and seven rebounds. Neil Efimov, who scored 19 points in the semifinals, was held scoreless until the final two minutes. He finished with five points. The Foxes shot 28 percent (10 for 36) from the field for the game.