‘It’s like a dream come true.’ Malik Ross, Tualatin headed to Chiles Center after outlasting league rival Lake Oswego in second-round thriller
By Alex Tam | Photos by Ken Waz
TUALATIN — Malik Ross couldn’t help but feel he was “losing hope” in the final minute of Friday’s state playoff game.
Down one point with 32.6 seconds left, the Tualatin senior missed two free throws that could have proved costly.
“You’re thinking, ‘Wow, how are we going to get back into this game?’” Ross said.
Fortunately for Ross and the Timberwolves, they got possession back immediately after a loose ball scramble. He was fouled again on a driving layup and earned a shot to redeem himself with 7.8 seconds to go.
Swish on the first.
Swish on the second for the lead.
Lake Oswego couldn’t get a shot off in the closing seconds, and No. 1 seed Tualatin survived to beat its league rival 45-44 in a pressure-packed nail-biter at Tualatin High School to advance to the OSAA Class 6A state quarterfinals next week.
“When I missed the first two, I was like, ‘I’m not going to be the one that’ll lose this game for us,’” Ross said. “I can’t go out like that, so when I got to the free throw line the second time, I was like, ‘This is my chance.’”
Ross said sophomore Jaden Steppe was the first teammate to approach him before his final two attempts with “words of wisdom” to tell him he had it. Soon after, all his other teammates were there to back him up.
“My teammates, without them, I probably wouldn’t have made them,” Ross said. “They gave me confidence. They said, ‘Hey, after you make these two, we’re going to get back and defend.’”
Lake Oswego raced the ball up court in the final moments, and Ross came from behind for the game-clinching steal. The Tualatin student section emptied the bleachers and raced to midcourt to celebrate with the team.
Countless high-fives. Fist pumps. And the band playing the school fight song. It was a moment none of the Timberwolves will ever forget.
“The adrenaline is insane,” said Tualatin senior Noah Ogoli, who scored a game-high 16 points. “Shoutout to Malik for the clutch free throws at the end. The emotions are crazy high right now. I don’t even know what to say. It’s crazy. We’re going to the Chiles Center. It’s like a dream come true.”
That dream, however, was almost a nightmare. Tualatin saw its nine-point halftime lead erased in a matter of minutes as Lakers freshman Winters Grady came out firing with nine points to begin the third quarter.
Lake Oswego senior Carson Reno’s field goal tied the score at 31-31 with 2:43 to go in the third. Senior Sorena Torabi scored at the buzzer to give the Lakers a 38-37 lead heading to the final quarter.
In the fourth, the Lakers continued their momentum and appeared poised to pull off a road victory. Grady scored again to give Lake Oswego a 44-41 lead with 1:24 to go.
The Lakers got the ball back and had a chance to extend their lead with free throws but missed the first of a one-and-one. Ross then made two free throws to cut the Lakers’ lead to 44-43 with 1:11 left.
Lake Oswego had its chances, but a couple of turnovers in the final minute against Tualatin’s pressure defense was too much to overcome.
“They were testing us, for sure,” Ogoli said. “But I feel like we kept punching and kept fighting back. Every time they punched us, we gave them one back. That mentality gets you going in games and gets you a ‘W.’”
Lake Oswego coach Marshall Cho said Tualatin’s defensive pressure got to the Lakers.
“We had some bad turnovers for a split second,” Cho said. “We didn’t show the poise we needed. It’s playoff basketball. ... Hats off to those guys. We wish them the best.”
It was a heartbreaking defeat for the Lakers, who will graduate a big senior class. They did not return an all-league player from last season and still finished with a 14-13 record.
Lake Oswego is also the lone Oregon team to beat Tualatin this season — a 63-61 win Feb. 1. And the Lakers came two points short of reaching the state quarterfinals.
“Obviously, it’s a tough loss,” said Reno, who scored nine points. “But there’s a lot of emotions. For a second, you’re about to win it, and then, obviously, the final horn sounds. There’s a lot of up and down emotions. I don't know how to explain it, but it being my last game, it’s tough.
“Just not being able to play with my teammates after this — that’s what hurts the most.”
Cho said he is proud of his guys for “playing like champions.”
“This is what we’ve been chasing all year: to put a complete game together,” Cho said. “A couple things didn’t go our way at the end. The young guys will learn from it, but to the 10 seniors and one student manager — 11 of them in total — they contributed so much this year. None of those things are going to be wasted, so I’m grateful to them, proud of them.
“Hats off to Tualatin — I hope they go win it all.”
Tualatin (23-2) advances to the state tournament for the first time since 2018, when it finished sixth. The Timberwolves have never won a state title in boys basketball but reached the final in 2000 under former coach Rick Osborn.
They will play Beaverton in the quarterfinals Wednesday at 1:30 p.m.
Tualatin coach Todd Jukkala called it a “rewarding” experience to get this far.
“You tell kids you work hard, compete hard, and good things will happen,” Jukkala said. “Sometimes that’s true, and sometimes that’s not. You talk about the journey and that’s what matters. You like it when the payoff comes. And I'm glad we got it. I’m very grateful that these guys got to compete and make that happen.”
Added Ross: “It feels good, but we’re not satisfied. We know we’ve got a great opponent ahead of us, no matter who it is. We know we’ve got to come out stronger in the second half because our opponents are going to do the same. It’s only going to get harder from here.”
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Notes: Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard was in attendance. … Grady led Lake Oswego with 13 points. Three Lakers added nine points: Reno, Torabi and junior Max Archambo. Seniors Luke Brauner and Christian Rowell each had two points. … Sophomore Jaden Steppe had 12 points for Tualatin. Ross added six points, and junior Josiah Lake had five. Senior Kellen Hale, senior Peter Burke and junior Ryan Schleicher each had two. … The Timberwolves extended their win streak to 13 games.
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Tualatin 45, Lake Oswego 44
Lake Oswego -- 11 -- 7 -- 20 -- 6 — 44
Tualatin -- 14 -- 13 -- 10 -- 6 — 45
Lake Oswego — Winters Grady 13, Reno 9, Torabi 9, Archambo 9, Rowell 2, Brauner 2, Lee, Latta, Saefke, Fisher, Alles, Tumbleson, Mehaffey, Bacci
Tualatin — Noah Ogoli 16, Jaden Steppe 12, Ross 6, Lake 5, Hale 2, Schleicher 2, Burke 2, Wagner, Noland, Zuckerman, Fortier, Chiong, Rose
