Wilsonville survives Cinderella Crescent Valley, advances to state championhship

Junior+Guard+Kallen+Gutridge+goes+up+for+a+tough+layup+in+the+SF+vs+Crescent+Valley.+Wilsonville+would+advance+to+the+State+Championship+to+face+Summit.

Greg Artman

Junior Guard Kallen Gutridge goes up for a tough layup in the SF vs Crescent Valley. Wilsonville would advance to the State Championship to face Summit.

Wilsonville’s fight for State almost came to an end vs 15 seed Crescent Valley, led by senior 1st Team All-Tournament Guard Adam Temesgen. In the end, however, Temesgen’s performance wasn’t enough, as the Wildcats won, 34-24.

The game started off slow paced and sluggish, similar to Wilsonville’s QF matchup vs Woodburn. At the end of the first half, Wilsonville led 14-12, with Crescent Valley shooting below 30% from the field and Wilsonville struggling to shoot 35%. Temesgen was the only thing keeping Crescent Valley’s offense alive, as he punished Wilsonville down low with tough finishes and fastbreak scores. Wilsonville struggled from inside, scoring just 8 points on 15 shot attempts from inside the arc. However, they hit both of their 3 point attempts to reach 14 points and hold onto a small lead at half.

In the second half, neither team pulled ahead early, with the largest lead of the game with 3 minutes left being a 7 point lead for Wilsonville in the middle of the 3rd quarter. Temesgen continued to push Wilsonville as far as he could, but it wasn’t quite enough. Junior Guard Kallen Gutridge for Wilsonville got his shot falling also, eclipsing Temesgen’s point total and forcing turnovers defensively, albeit on worse efficiency. With just 3 minutes left in the 4th, Wilsonville held a 2 point lead.

The two teams would stalemate, with no points being scored for a minute and a half. Wilsonville finally broke the drought with 2 Gutridge free throws. Wilsonville would play good defense and make their free throws the rest of the way.

Wilsonville’s next game would be the State Championship vs Summit, a rematch of the Football State Championship just months ago.