Creswell boys, girls claim trophies at state basketball tourneys

Creswell’s boys and girls basketball teams both left the 3A state tournament in Coos Bay Saturday, March 7, with trophies: The boys team fought through the consolation bracket to claim fourth place while the girls took home fifth-place honors.

Boys 3A tourney

Creswell’s 62-42 victory Saturday in the tournament’s fourth-place/sixth-place game had to be particularly sweet for the Bulldogs, as it came against Mountain Valley Conference rival Pleasant Hill.

The game, held at Marshfield High School, marked the fourth time this season that the teams had met, with the Billies winning two of the first three. 

Saturday, the Bulldogs raced to a fast start, outscoring the Billies 23-14 in the first quarter. The Billies closed to 30-25 at halftime, but were outscored 32-17 in the second half.

Luke Bailey scored 19 points to lead Creswell, and teammate Ace Arnold contributed 13 points and 11 rebounds. For Pleasant Hill, which left the tournament with sixth-place honors, Jacob Neely had 14 points, and Landen Melvin had 11. 

Pleasant Hill’s Melvin, a senior, was a unanimous choice for the tourney’s first team. For Creswell, Arnold, also a senior, earned second-team honors.

The Bulldogs end their season with a 20-9 mark, while the Billies finish 22-7. 

Valley Catholic claimed the state title with a 77-61 win over Riverside. 

Girls 3A tourney

The Creswell girls basketball team was two wins away from a championship, but ended up finishing fifth after suffering a pair of losses Friday and Saturday at the 3A girls tournament at Marshfield High School.

The Bulldogs, the No. 4 seed in the tournament, won a quarterfinal match Thursday against league rival Sisters to advance to a semifinal game Friday against No. 1 Vale. 

But on Friday, the Bulldogs stumbled through a first quarter in which Vale shot 67% from two-point range and was 2-for-4 in three-point attempts. By the time the first eight minutes were over, Creswell trailed 17-5 and never got back into the game, falling 48-29.

The Bulldogs were led by Elliette Kinney and Raelee Green, who each had 9 points.

The loss dumped the Bulldogs into Saturday’s third-place/fifth-place game against Banks, the No. 3 seed. 

Poor shooting continued to haunt the Bulldogs in Saturday’s game, a 55-23 loss to the Braves. Creswell fell behind 16-6 after the first quarter and then failed to score in the second quarter to trail 28-6 at halftime. The Bulldogs shot 13.3% from two-point range for the game and made just 2 of 11 three-point attempts. Mila Nguyen led Creswell with 11 points.

Kinney, a senior, was named to the tourney’s second team. 

Creswell finishes its season with a 21-8 record.

Pleasant Hill, which also qualified for the state tournament, won the tourney’s sportsmanship trophy. The Billies finish their season with an 18-11 mark. 

Amity won the state title with a 47-44 victory over Vale.