QuickTake:

Creswell, Pleasant Hill boys are scheduled to clash Saturday — for the fourth time this season — with a fourth-place trophy on the line.

The Creswell High School girls basketball team earned a spot in Friday’s 3A state semifinals with a 52-40 win over Sisters Thursday, March 5.

Meanwhile, the boys teams from Creswell and Pleasant Hill shrugged off quarterfinal losses Thursday to rally for consolation bracket wins Friday — and now, the two league rivals will face each other Saturday for fourth-place honors at the 3A tournament.

The Pleasant Hill girls and the Lowell boys were eliminated from their respective tourneys with losses Friday.

Here’s the roundup thus far from the 3A and 2A tournaments.

Friday’s games

3A boys

Pleasant Hill 74, St. Mary’s (Medford) 53: Playing in the consolation bracket Friday morning, the Billies rode a monster game from Landen Melvin to beat St. Mary’s 74-53. Melvin scored 37 points and collected 10 rebounds as the Billies roared back from a 35-32 halftime deficit to outscore St. Mary’s 42-18 in the second half. Jacob Neely scored 14 points in the win.

Creswell 72, Blanchet Catholic 57: The Bulldogs shot 56% from two-point range — and went 9-for-14 on three-point attempts — to dispatch Blanchet Catholic 72-47 in a consolation-bracket game Friday. The Bulldogs were up 44-27 at halftime. Ace Arnold had 23 points, and Luke Bailey added 15 points and pulled down 12 rebounds in the win.

Pleasant Hill and Creswell will meet Saturday at 9 a.m. at Marshfield High School, with the winner claiming fourth place and the loser settling for sixth. The game will be the fourth time the Mountain Valley Conference foes have met this season, with the Billies winning twice thus far.

3A girls 

Valley Catholic 44, Pleasant Hill 39: A fourth-quarter rally by the Billies fell short as Valley Catholic claimed a 44-39 win Friday in the consolation bracket, eliminating Pleasant Hill from the 3A girls tournament. The Billies shot a bit better than they did in their Thursday loss, but were still 22% from two-point range and just 2-for-18 on three-point attempts. Anna Crawford led Pleasant Hill with 18 points and eight rebounds. The Billies finish their season with an 18-11 record and a second-place finish in the Mountain Valley Conference.

2A boys 

Western Christian 57, Lowell 41: The No. 7 Devils bowed out of the state tournament with this consolation bracket 57-41 loss to Western Christian Friday in Pendleton. The Devils were down by just one point at halftime, but No. 11 Western Christian grabbed control in the third quarter and led by 21 midway through the fourth. Wyatt Smith had 19 points in the loss and Gage Greco contributed 10; Jax Norcutt had 10 rebounds. Lowell ends its season with a 22-7 record and a second-place finish in the East Cascades Conference.

Thursday’s games

3A girls 

Creswell 52, Sisters 40: The No. 4 Bulldogs broke open a tight game with a big fourth quarter to defeat league rival Sisters 52-40 in a 3A quarterfinal game at Marshfield High School. Creswell took a one-point lead into the fourth quarter, but the Bulldogs took control in the final frame, shooting 67% from the floor and outscoring No. 5 Sisters 15-4 the rest of the way. Elliette Kinney had 17 points for the Bulldogs, with Raelee Green and Kylie Leonard each adding 11.

The Bulldogs (20-7) advance to the semifinals to challenge No. 1 Vale (26-1). The Vikings beat Sutherlin 58-20 in their quarterfinal game. Tipoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Friday at Marshfield High School.

Amity 48, Pleasant Hill 26: The No. 7 Billies couldn’t get on track against No. 2 Amity, shooting just 15% from the floor in a 48-26 loss Thursday in a 3A quarterfinal. The Billies hit just one field goal in the first quarter and were behind 28-10 at the half. Neither team shot the ball well throughout the game and combined were 0-for-33 from the field in the fourth quarter, when free throws accounted for all the scoring. Ashlyn Johnson led the Billies with 8 points and Anna Crawford had 10 rebounds.

3A boys 

Cascade Christian 56, Creswell 37: The No. 7 Bulldogs were down just 22-14 at halftime. But the No. 2 Challengers shot 77% from the field and opened a 44-19 lead in the third quarter to send the Bulldogs to a 56-37 loss in the 3A quarterfinal round Thursday at North Bend High School. Ace Arnold led the Bulldogs with 16 points and Luke Bailey had six rebounds. 

Riverside 61, Pleasant Hill 57: Down 34-22 at halftime, the No. 5 Billies rallied throughout the second half but fell short in a quarterfinal 61-57 loss to No. 4 Riverside Thursday. Pleasant Hill’s Landen Melvin scored 28 points and had seven rebounds to lead the team.

2A boys 

Portland Christian 78, Lowell 31: The No. 7 Devils fell behind undefeated Portland Christian 25-3 in the first quarter as the No. 2 Royals raced to a 78-31 win Thursday in the quarterfinal round at Pendleton High School. Carson Ewan scored 8 points for the Devils and Jax Norcutt had six rebounds.

Mike McInally is a Pacific Northwest journalist with four decades of experience in Oregon and Montana, including stints as editor of the Corvallis Gazette-Times and the Albany Democrat-Herald.