Two coaching legends collide, and Tualatin pastes Pace in LSI openers

Senior guard Jemai Lake led Tualatin to a first-round LSI victory over Pace Academy of Atlanta, but he had plenty of help (courtesy Andrew Gill)

In the Portland area, the Les Schwab Invitational is a post-Christmas tradition, like leftovers, confectionary items and a few extra pounds.

The 29th annual (except for 2020) high school basketball tournament tipped off Friday with seven games at the Viking Pavilion on the Portland State campus.

Eighteen teams are in the competition that calls for 35 games to be played over a five-day period, with the championship contest scheduled for next Wednesday night. Among those teams are 14 local and four “elite” programs from out of state — Pace Academy of Atlanta, Sierra Canyon of Los Angeles, Rainier Beach of Seattle and Columbus of Miami.

Rainier Beach — featuring 6-8 senior guard Tyran Stokes, the No. 1-ranked player in the country by ESPN — is ranked No. 3 nationally by MaxPreps. Columbus is No. 6 and Sierra Canyon — which shellacked Clackamas 79-41 in Friday’s nightcap — is No. 7.

Among the local teams are 11 of the top 16 in the state’s 6A ranks going into the tournament — No. 1 Oregon City, No. 2 Southridge, No. 3 Clackamas, No. 5 Barlow, No. 6 Tualatin,  No. 7 Westview, No. 8 Nelson, No. 9 Gresham, No. 12 Central Catholic, No. 14 Grant and No. 16 Jesuit.

Historically, the elite teams have a major advantage. The top two teams met in Friday’s opening round, and Southridge pulled out a 63-61 victory.

Only five of the 28 LSI champions have had state-of-Oregon roots and only one — West Linn in 2022 — since 2012. Legendary Oak Hill Academy of Mouth of Wilson, Va., has won it five times. Last year’s champions were the Gonzaga Purple Bulldogs of Spokane, Wash.

Fifty-two McDonald’s All-Americans have performed in past LSIs and more than 75 alums went on to the NBA, including Kevin Durant, Carmelo Anthony, Jaylen Brown, Aaron Gordon, Ben Simmons, Brandon Jennings, Kemba Walker, Zach Collins, Scottie Barnes, Michael Porter, Scotty Pippen Jr., Tyson Chandler, Dejounte Murray and Jerami Grant. Also, locals such as Mike Dunleavy Jr., Terrance Jones, Kevin Love, Payton Pritchard and Drew Eubanks. The 2023 MVP was Cameron Boozer, now a Duke freshman and a possibility to be the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NBA draft.

You get the picture. The LSI is a big deal.

I have attended and written about several of the tournaments of the past. I sauntered out with former Oregon great Rob Closs to watch the evening session of the opening day. It was an opportunity to observe three of the very best prep coaches in the state in action — Tom Johnson of Barlow, Gene Potter of Jesuit and “Bubba” Lemon of Tualatin. Johnson and Potter were paired in a rematch of last season’s 6A Championship Game, won by Barlow 61-55. Lemon’s Timberwolves pulled off the upset of the first day, knocking off Pace Academy 59-51.

Johnson is in his 43rd season as a head coach, the last 40 at Barlow. His career record is 716-352, and Friday’s victory pushes him past Craig Rothenberger into third place on the career wins list for the state’s prep coaches at any level. Johnson trails only Mike Doherty (850-390 in 50 years, all but 10 wins at top-classification schools) and Gary Hull (791-255), who is still coaching at 3A Horizon Christian. All of Hull’s victories have come at the 3A level or lower. Johnson’s teams have reached at least the state semifinals six times; he won his first state championship in March.

Potter is in his 34th season as a head coach, all at Jesuit, and has won seven state titles. His career mark is 674-224, which ranks eighth overall and fifth among men who have coached a majority of the time at the larger schools.

Lemon is in his fourth season as head coach at Tualatin. I’m not sure about his career record, but he showed his coaching prowess by guiding the Timberwolves to the 2023 state title, beating Jackson Shelstad and top-ranked West Linn in the finals in his first season as head coach.

The Dean of Portland Sports is now on BlueSky.

Here is what was witnessed on Friday night:

BARLOW 77, JESUIT 72: Jesuit led for about 26 of 32 minutes in this one. The final score is all that counts, though, and the Bruins outscored the Crusaders 25-16 in the fourth quarter to pull out the win.

Maddox Young’s offensive game was dormant through three quarters, but the 6-5 senior came alive down the stretch, scoring 10 of his 13 points in a two-minute span late in the final period on four straight baskets — the first two from 3-point range.

“Maddox and Maddyn (Cummings) are our two veterans,” Johnson said. “(Young) had been quiet the whole first three quarters. We told him he needed to do something, and he did. When you see the ball go in one time, it makes a difference for you mentally.”

Jesuit outscored Barlow 25-16 in the second quarter to take a 39-31 lead into the half. Major Williams — son of former UO great Orlando Williams — scored 15 points to fuel the Crusader offense to that point.

The Bruins gradually cut the deficit but trailed until Young drilled a 3 to push them ahead 69-67 with 2:30 remaining. Jesuit was still within 71-70 when a Young jumper from the foul line made it 73-70 with 45 seconds to go, and Barlow closed things out from there.

Two numbers caught Potter’s eye — 11 Jesuit assists, 14 turnovers.

“They caught fire, hit some big shots, and we didn’t answer,” said Potter, whose team is 5-2 in this season’s early going. “We were a little sloppy with the ball and didn’t get enough shot attempts, honestly. We didn’t share the ball as much as we have been. Individual plays win games, but we did not have nearly as many assists per shot made as we usually do.

“But credit to their kids. They made a lot of big shots. Once you get on a roll, that basket looks pretty big sometimes.”

Cummings, a 6-1 junior, is the only returning starter from Barlow’s 2025 championship squad. He scored 18 points with four assists Friday night and got major help from 6-4 junior Stan Bozhduga (21 points, 12 rebounds) and 6-foot junior Silas Gentry (11 points, five assists, one turnover in 32 minutes).

“Silas is always in the right position, always makes the right decision, and he is such a great competitor for us,” Johnson said. “Going in, we thought the one advantage we might have was with Stan inside, and he came through for us tonight.”

The Bruins paid a little more attention defensively to Williams after intermission. The 6-foot junior finished with a game-high 25 points but was only 4 for 15 from the field over the final two periods and finished with no assists and four turnovers.

“We told our guys to help more on him,” Johnson said. “He is mighty talented — an exceptional player.”

Barlow also got the right players to the free-throw line, where they were 9 for 9. Bozhduga was 5 for 5 and Cummings 4 for 4.

The Bruins (5-1) have rallied from deficits of 10 or more points to win three times this season.

“It has been a great team to coach,” Johnson said. “It’s a lot of fun to work with them. Last year’s crew was special, but with a talented group comes high expectations. A year ago, sometimes the wins were a relief. This year, wins are joyful. I am really proud of (the players) for how they kept in there fighting.”

Jesuit lost first-team all-state tournament selections Patrick Kilfoil and Isaac Bongen from its 2024-25 team, but should again be a Metro League contender.

“It’s a great group of kids,” Potter said. “We just have to get better. This tournament can expose things real quickly.”

Jesuit has participated in every LSI except the first two.

“It is fun to be a part of,” Potter said. “It’s a bit of a grind to play four games this early in the season without a whole lot of practice. It can be a little taxing. But the kids enjoy it, and the fans enjoy it.”

Johnson has mixed feelings because of the inclusion of the “elite” teams and academy schools from out of state.

“It’s not necessarily a high school tournament,” the Barlow coach said. “I would probably prefer it be all Oregon and/or Washington schools. But I have to say, our kids are thrilled to have an opportunity to play a nationally ranked team (Sierra Canyon on Saturday). That is a great experience for the kids.”

Friday’s game was a marquee matchup between two of the state’s coaching legends. What a treat it was to watch them go head to head.

“Tom is a great coach, but he is an even better human being,” Potter said. “That guy is awesome. The number of lives he has touched since he’s been at Barlow … you can’t even measure what he has done.”

Johnson estimates Barlow and Jesuit have played “10 or 12 times” during his time with the Bruins, “but we never beat them until three years ago.”

“Gene is an amazing coach,” he said. “I have so much respect for the way his kids execute. (The Crusaders) do such a great job of making the extra cut and countering what you do defensively. If you aren’t disciplined defensively, they will exploit you. And they did that several times in the first half.”

Common thought was that Johnson would retire following the state tournament last March and ride off into the sunset with a championship. That’s not the way he rolls.

“I retired from teaching a year ago, which has given me more free time to concentrate on coaching,” Johnson said. “My staff of coaches is amazing. Todd Nagel has a wealth of experience, not only coaching basketball but other sports. Graham Bledsoe, who played for me in 2009, has been with me for quite some time. Gene Saling has helped out for 35-plus years.

“And I didn’t want people to think I only stuck around because we had a chance to win state. Coaching is so much more. We all get caught up in winning more than we should. I have always believed the values of the game are much more important than the events of the game. The lessons we can teach young men about being resilient, unselfish and accountable are much more important. There is no better age in teaching those things than in high school.”

You can see why Johnson commands so much respect from his peers.

TUALATIN 59, PACE ACADEMY 51: This is not a great Pace Academy team. The Knights, facing a difficult schedule, are 3-6 after losing to a gritty Tualatin team that scrapped its way to victory.

How often does a team go 0 for 14 from 3-point range and win?

“We decided to win this one on defense instead of offense,” Lemon said with a smile.

The Timberwolves (6-2) were excellent on 2-point shots, however — 22 for 36 — outrebounded the bigger Knights 40-29 and hounded the visitors from the South defensively all night. Pace shot .346 from the field, including but 4 for 24 from the 3-point line.

“We knew we had to battle,” Lemon said. “(Pace) was a good, physical team. We had to just fight, fight, fight. And the guys were ready to go.”

The Wolves used a 2-3 zone through a sluggish first half and led 21-17 at the break. They switched to man-to-man in the second half, “which worked out well,” Lemon said. “We might have given up more points, but it helped us push the pace more.”

Lemon went much of the way with four guards, giving starters Takeo McCrae (6-5) and Damian Olvera (6-6) frequent blows. Carter Lemon, a 5-11 junior (and the coach’s nephew) and Pat Vialva, a 6-foot junior, were demons on the backboards. Lemon finished with 10 points and 14 rebounds and Vialva contributed 16 points and eight boards. Each player grabbed five off the offensive glass.

“Those guys were key for us tonight,” Coach Lemon said. “Carter gets second-chance points, keeps the ball alive, does what we need him to do. He keeps gaining extra possessions for our team and gets the other team tired with his defense.”

Jemai Lake — a 6-2 senior and younger brother of Oregon State star Josiah Lake II — led the Wolves with 17 points, four rebounds, four assists and three steals.

“What I love about this team, you can put your best defender on Jemai, and who is going to guard Pat, or Carter?” Lemon said. “Who is going to guard the other guys? You have to pick your poison. There is going to be a weak link in there (defensively).”

Lemon said he relishes the chance to face national teams in the LSI.

“It’s a great tournament,” he said. “You have teams coming from across the country. I love this venue. They put on a great show. Why would you not want to be in this event?”

Before Christmas, Tualatin split a pair of games in Salem’s Capital City Classic, falling 76-68 to Ruston, La., while beating Webster Groves (Mo.) 71-62.

“That helped prepare us for what was coming tonight,” Lemon said.

Tualatin’s next game is at 6:45 p.m. Saturday against Central Catholic, which beat Canby 66-35 on Friday. Columbus goes against Grant at 5:15 p.m. Saturday. Rainier Beach’s first action is Sunday at 6:45 p.m. vs. Southridge. All good stuff for fans who make it out to Viking Pavilion this weekend.

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