SALEM (OR) - Sunday, 12/18/22 - This is going to be good.
As the Capitol City Classic presented by Northwestern Mutual moves to its quarterfinal round, intriguing games and epic matchups will be on display on Monday, 12/19 in the Oregon Army National Guard Boys Bracket.
Headlining them all, perhaps, is a matchup at 7:00pm between the OSAA preseason #1 (West Linn Lions) and #2 (Beaverton Beavers) teams. West Linn (3-0) has guard power galore, led by defending Gatorade Player of the Year and Oregon Duck commit Jackson Shelstad and Adrian Mosley, the PIL Player of the Year at Grant a year ago. Beaverton (4-1), meanwhile, is balanced and loaded, with a starting five that is talented and skilled as any in the state perhaps.
The 4:00pm game has two out-of-state powers squaring off in Modesto Christian (CA), who is playing with the injured Jamari Phillips, and John Paul II (TX). Phillips is a consensus top 15-20 player in the country, but the Crusaders have plenty of firepower without him as they have a roster with at least six other future Division 1 players. JPII, meanwhile, showed why they are the defending Texas private school state champs in their impressive 99-93 opening round win over Gresham.
At 5:30pm, Wilsonville (5-0) will take on West Salem in a rematch of the 2021 CCC championship game won by West by a 42-39 score.
Lastly, in the nightcap, the upstart Cascade Cougars (5-0) will be playing what some in their fold are calling "the biggest game in school history" when they take on St. John Bosco (CA) (10-0). The Braves have a considerable size advantage over Cascade, but the Cougars roster is loaded with kids who seem to love the game and know how to play, and they are proven winners over the last season-plus.
On the girls side, the Capitol Toyota Girls Bracket tips off play with an expanded field at a new site. The field this year has grown to eight teams and full three-day, bracketed tourney. Four Mid-Willamette Valley teams (Central, Silverton, South Salem & West Salem) will be competing against some of the strongest programs from around the state (Newberg, Oregon City, Rex Putnam & Willamette). The event's quarterfinal matchups begin play at 4:00pm at Corban University in Salem.
Championship Quarterfinals:
8:30 - Cascade Cougars v St John Bosco (CA)
7:00 - Beaverton Beavers v West Linn Lions
5:30 - Wilsonville Wildcats v West Salem Titans
4:00 - John Paul II Cardinals (TX) v Modesto Christian Crusaders (CA)
Consolation Quarterfinals:
2:30 - Sprague Olympians v Central Panthers
1:00 - Regis Rams v Silverton Foxes
11:30am - South Salem Saxons v Sherwood Bowment
10:00am - Canby Cougars v Gresham Gophers
Opening Night!
8:30 - Silverton Foxes v South Salem Saxons
7:00 - Central Panthers v West Salem Titans
5:30 - Newberg Tigers v Willamette Wolverines
4:00 - Oregon City Pioneers v Rex Putnam Kingsmen