Capping a 10-0 run through the Valley Coast League boys basketball competition, East Linn Christian warmed up for the state playoffs with a 66-42 win over second-place Toledo in the league playoff championship game Saturday afternoon, Feb. 21.
The Eagles, 19-7 overall and ranked eighth in OSAA’s 2A DIvision, will host No. 9 Enterprise at 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 27.
“I thought our guys played awesome,” said ELCA Coach Jonathan Whitehead. “They showed up, ready to go, they shared the ball and executed our game plan. We’ve been trying to put together four good quarters all year and I feel like we did that.”
ELCA went to work quickly, sophomore Grady Knurowski hitting three three-pointers and junior Gavin Wilson adding another six points from inside to give the hosts a 25-12 first-quarter lead after leading 9-0 early on.
East Linn led 37-21 at the half. The Boomers kept things near even with 14 points in the third period to 17 for the hosts, but that 54-35 score at the break was as close as it was going to get for them as the Eagles turned up the heat again in the final period with 12 more points.
Senior Brison Edwards, who finished with 25 points to lead East Linn, was all over the court throughout the contest, contributing six assists, five rebounds and three steals.
Wilson added 18 points and pulled down six boards, while Knurowski was also in double figures on points with 11, along with five rebounds.
“I think our team’s been progressing throughout the year,” Edwards said. “We’ve had a lot of setbacks and injuries, illness and things like that.”
He said that those issues have forced the young players to step up into important roles.”
“As our team’s getting healthier, everybody’s been filling their role perfectly, and I think we’re really coming together and peaking as a team, gelling perfectly,” he said. “I think it’s starting to show now.”
All of their losses thus far have been to top 2A teams – Portland Christian, which is seeded No. 2 in the 2A playoffs and Stanfield, seeded No. 5, along with several 3A teams that all are in the playoffs.
Edwards said that “tough” schedule will “ultimately benefit us in the long run, not being able to shy away from anything.”
“I mean, we’re used to every environment, whether it’s quiet or loud. So I think our team will be ready for whatever’s ahead of us.”
Wilson noted that the Eagles are “really young” – nine of their 15 players are sophomores.
“That was probably the biggest challenge,” he said. “We’re all sophomores and juniors, with a couple of seniors.”
Whitehead said he’s hoping his team will bring the same focus they had against Toledo on Friday. Enterprise comes in with a 15-9 record, including three losses to Stanfield – one by two points, during its league season. The Outlaws’ roster matches up well with East Linn’s – with one exception: 6-7 senior Jayden Weller.
Whitehead he expects Weller to present a challenge.
“We have to make up for some height,” he said. “We need to share the ball well and we have to do a really good job of rotating on defense, boxing out.”
The Eagles have been stingy on defense and getting rebounds, and that will be key, he said.
Edwards said he appreciates starting the playoffs at home.
“Making it a home sub-state game is very important,” he said. “We have good momentum and I think it’ll definitely be a fun game next Friday, and playing in front of this crowd, on our home court, is definitely going to be an advantage to us.
“And then, you just have to take it one game at a time from here on out. We’re just focused on winning every single game from here on out.”