Mountainside erases 10-point second-half deficit at Central Catholic to lock up 1st state tournament berth in program history

“This is our first time going to the Chiles Center, but one thing I can say is that our guys aren’t happy just to be there.”

By Dave Ball | Photos by Dave Ball

PORTLAND — Mountainside put on a second-half surge to score a 58-49 win at Mt. Hood Conference champion Central Catholic on Friday night to punch its ticket to next week’s 6A quarterfinals at the Chiles Center.

Down by 10 early in the third quarter, the Mavericks got a scoring punch from 6-foot-3 freshman Brayden Boe, who spun through traffic in the lane for back-to-back baskets.

A few minutes later, guard Blake Thune hit a 3-pointer from the right side, flashing three fingers to the Mountainside student section after giving the Mavericks their first lead of the night.

On the team’s next trip, Thune found an opening on the other side of the floor and drained another deep ball. This time he put a finger to his lips to shush Central Catholic’s student section.

“This is the first time I’ve played in front of a crowd like this, and I was just in the moment,” Thune said. “This whole season we’ve had someone step up and help us get the win.”

The state tournament berth is the first in the four-year history of the Mountainside program. The Rams (22-5) entered Friday on a 20-game win streak. 

The Mavericks (19-7) used a deliberate approach to start the fourth quarter, taking almost a minute off the clock before Dylan Westlake got a step on his defender and drove the lane for a layup.

Westlake drew a charge on the defensive end for a Central Catholic turnover.

Mountainside peeled another minute off the clock when Dimitri Cohen collected his miss under the hoop and shoveled a pass across the lane to teammate Quinn Haveman for an easy finish and a 45-38 lead.

“We were down at the half, but we knew it wasn’t over,” Cohen said. “We turned up the defensive intensity and kept fighting.” 

The Mavericks kept rolling when Haveman dished the ball to Dezman Baker, who drew contact on his way to the hoop for a three-point play and a 51-40 lead with three minutes left.

“They have five guys who can handle the ball,” Rams coach David Blue said. “They were able to spread the floor and it makes them tough to defend. You can’t really trap the ball.”

Central Catholic’s Jordan King launched a deep 3-pointer that circled the rim and dropped through to cut the margin to five, but that would be as close as the Rams would get down the stretch.

Mountainside went 5 for 9 from the free throw line in the final two minutes, but the Rams misfired on a series of deep shots, leaving them unable to close the gap. 

“We’ve always been a pressure defense team, but we came out and it was like we were trying not to get scored on. We were playing scared,” Mountainside coach Dustin Hewitt said. “In the second half, we picked it up, pressured the ball and the passing lanes and figured we would see what happens.”

The Mavericks will face PIL champion Cleveland in Wednesday’s 6:30 p.m. quarterfinal game.

“This is our first time going to the Chiles Center, but one thing I can say is that our guys aren’t happy just to be there,” Hewitt said. 

Central Catholic stayed a step ahead throughout the first half of Friday’s game. The Rams aimed to take advantage of their big bodies by pounding the ball inside.

The ball often ended up in the hands of Emar’rion Winston at the top of the arc, where he would keep it outstretched in his right hand while watching his teammates crisscross their way through the lane. He assisted early hoops by Riley Williams and Tony Angelo, while also driving in for a couple baskets of his own. 

Williams got stopped twice on baseline drives only to find teammate Gray Thompson on the perimeter for a 3-pointer and a 15-8 first-quarter lead.

In the second quarter, Winston drew a double team on the block but leaned behind the basket and sent a bounce pass to the corner, where Thompson drilled another triple.

The Rams built an eight-point lead late in the first half when Angelo swiped a steal, zipped down the sideline and flipped a pass up high for Williams to finish an alley-oop layup.

“In the first half we stuck with the game plan and got the ball into the paint. We were moving the ball with passing as opposed to putting the ball on the ground,” Blue said. “We came out in the second half with the lead and got away from what was working.”

Mountainside prepared for the game by bringing offensive linemen into the gym this week to replicate Central Catholic’s physical style.

Cohen finished with a game-high 15 points, and Baker and Boe also scored in double figures for the Mavericks. Winston led Central Catholic with 11 points, and Williams finished with 10.