The first few days of December proved to be an eventful weekend for Wilsonville High School’s boys basketball team. The program hosted its annual WIT tournament, and the boys team came out of this year’s bracket with the first place title and a 3-0 record. 

On Friday, December 3rd, the Cats emerged victorious over the Highlanders of North Eugene High School in their first game of the season–with a final score of 67-33.

The following day, the Cats had their second game of the season, and this time were facing the Falcons of Liberty High School. So early in the preseason, it would have been easy for the team to let off steam, but they ended up beating the Falcons by 29 points, with a final score of 59-30. 

The championship game of the tournament was on Sunday–a matchup between the Cats and the Raiders of Crescent Valley, who were ranked among the top five 5A teams in the state. At half, the Cats led 27-23–but early in the third quarter, the Raiders managed to completely erase the deficit, bringing the game to a tie. Despite this second-half push, the Cats regained their momentum and finished the game with a ten-point win and a final score of 58-48. 

Enzo Chimienti is a starter for the Cats and a senior at Wilsonville High School. He explained the significant impact of the team’s competitive mindset, stating, “I feel like we competed well. With it being the first three games of the season, I expected turnovers, missed shots, and fatigue from everyone on the team. However, we worked through that by competing.” Chimienti determined that even though the Cats struggled with finding great shots throughout the three games, they had players who were able to make the contested and difficult shots, which helped them take the momentum in each game. 

Although, Chimienti believed the team’s overall success stemmed from their defensive end: “Our best aspect of this tournament was our defense. We held teams to single-digit scoring in most quarters. We were able to cause many turnovers and forced shots which translated to our offensive end.” 

In regards to the team’s future this season, Chimienti depicted a well-rounded group of players, each of whom carries their weight and brings important elements to the team. He even pointed out Nick Walters as being “one of our best and most positive leaders in every practice, and he’s just a sophomore.” 

As the Cats move forward and begin to put the WIT in hindsight, Chimienti explained the team would not be constructing goals about far-off games–“It’s important to take this season one game at a time to get to our goals.”

The Cats have their first home game on the 14th of December, and their first league game is also home on the 10th of January.

Gallery • 5 Photos

GMArtman