Well, that was unexpected.
Not the final outcome. The Centennial Huskies (Corona, CA) -- the heavy favorites to win the 2018 CCC and 14th ranked team in the nation -- won the Capitol City Classic's coveted Johnny Leonard Trophy as expected.
But it was the how that was more interesting. The Huskies had blown through the CCC field in its first three games, beating LaSalle by 42,Roosevelt by 48, and then beating a very good Tigard team by 30. Maybe not a cake-walk per se, but the Huskies were having their way, to be sure.
The championship game was a different story. For nearly 22 minutes, Wilsonville not only was in the game, they were leading. A 35-32 halftime lead for the Wildcats disappeared in the third quarter, but Centennial still led only 49-45 heading into the fourth with 8:00 minutes to play
.
In the end, Centennial was able to wear down Wilsonville and when they forced the Wildcats to press the issue, the Husky lead grew.
The final score showed a 15-point margin, but this was a dog fight until all but the very last couple of minutes.
Centennial got a huge game from senior wing Paris Dawson, who poured in 28 points. Dawson is a testimony to the Huskies' depth; in their first three CCC games he scored 26 points combined. But when they needed him against Wilsonville, Dawson came through huge.
Junior wing DJ Davis chipped in 18 points, while senior Alan McBride scored 10. Five-star recruit Jalen Clark - a 6'5 top 30-ranked player in the class of 2020 - was held in check by Wilsonville, as he scored 10 points on only 2/7 shooting.
The Wildcats (7-1) were led by senior guard Jack Roche, who had a monster game scoring 20 points, with 4 3-point field goals, and also dishing out 9 assists. Juniors Dakota Reber and Keegan Shivers both added 12 points, and they along with rugged senior post Nolan Thebiay helped the Wildcats hold their own on the glass against the athletic Huskies.
Centennial improved to 11-2 on the season, with their only losses both to top-10 nationally ranked teams.
2018 CAPITOL CITY CLASSIC TEAM FINISHES
1st Place: Centennial Huskies (Corona, CA)
2nd Place: Wilsonville Wildcats (Wilsonville, OR)
3rd Place: Tigard Tigers (Tigard, OR)
4th Place: Dutchtown Bulldogs (Hampton, GA)
5th Place: Liberty Patriots (Issaquah, WA)
2018 CAPITOL CITY CLASSIC ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
1st Team
* Jaylen Clark, 6'5 junior, Centennial High School (Corona, CA)
Jack Roche, 6'0 senior, Wilsonville High School (Wilsonville, OR)
Stevie Schlabach, 6'4 senior, Tigard High School (Tigard, OR)
DJ Davis, 6'0 junior, Centennial High School (Corona, CA)
Chase McClain, 6'2 senior, Mt. View High School (Bend, OR)
2nd Team
Jake Elfstrom, 6'4 senior, Liberty High School (Issaquah, WA)
Jason Harris, 6'8 junior, Higley High School (Gilbert, AZ)
Cam Bryant, 6'7 junior, Dutchtown High School (Hampton, GA)
Mason Lomax, 6'2 junior, Sprague High School (Salem, OR)
Keegan Shivers, 6'4 junior, Wilsonville High School (Wilsonville, OR)
* Tournament Most Outstanding Player
2018 CAPITOL CITY CLASSIC CHAMPIONSHIP SATURDAY SCORES
Championship Game
Centennial Huskies (Corona, CA) 77, Wilsonville Wildcats 62
3rd Place
Tigard Tigers 82, Mt. View Cougars 69
4th Place
Dutchtown Bulldogs (Hampton, GA) 61, Sprague Olympians 54
5th Place
Liberty Patriots (Issaquah, WA) 77, Cleveland Warriors 56
Consolation Games
Roosevelt Roughriders 78, Lincoln Cardinals 66
LaSalle Falcons 79, Dallas Dragons 54
Corvallis Spartans 62, Crook County Cowboys 58
Higley Knights (Gilbert, AZ) 70, North Salem Vikings 67
2018 CAPITOL CITY CLASSIC CONTEST CHAMPIONS
Sasquatch Sports Skills Challenge
Nathan Ng, Higley (AZ), 26.9 seconds
Hampton Inn & Suites Salem Hot Shot Contest
Jaylen Clark, Centennial (CA), 26 points
Scorebook Live 3-Point Contest
DJ Davis, Centennial (CA), 10
Les Schwab Tires Slam Dunk Contest
Dennis Cash, Centennial (CA), 45/42/47=134