Don't call us Cinderella: Mountainside proves it belongs at 6A boys basketball state tournament, outlasts Cleveland in OT thriller
By Alex Tam | Photos by Ken Waz
PORTLAND — On the outside, not many expected Mountainside to be at the state tournament.
The Mavericks are a No. 11 seed — the lowest-seeded team left in the playoffs. They were up against the PIL champions and one of the great stories in the state in Cleveland.
But on Wednesday night, Mountainside finds itself among the final four teams remaining after a 66-56 overtime victory over Cleveland in the OSAA Class 6A boys basketball state quarterfinals at the Chiles Center.
“Not many people expected us to be here,” Mountainside senior Dylan Westlake said. “But we did because our seeding is not telling of what our team is about. We’ve played tough teams all year. The games we’ve dropped have been real close, so we’re used to adversity coming in.”
Mavericks coach Dustin Hewitt said he recognizes many in the outside world believe his team is a Cinderella story, but according to the players and coaches, that’s not the case.
“The reality is everyone in this room expects us to be here,” Hewitt said. “It’s not a shot to us. We were not playing well in the middle of the Metro season. … I think all year, we were an RPI top-10 team, but I think we’re a dangerous team. I don’t think we’re a traditional 11-seed, I guess. The guys think we’re one of the better teams.”
In the overtime, Cleveland appeared to have all the momentum when junior Christian Green scored the first basket to give the Warriors a 55-53 lead with 3:21 to go.
Just moments before, Green sent the game to overtime with a clutch jumper with one second left.
But the Mavericks rallied — just like they’ve done all season.
Mountainside finished the game on a 13-1 run with several trips to the free throw line. After baskets by senior Dezman Baker and Westlake, Mountainside scored the rest of its points at the line.
The Mavericks went 9 of 11 over the final 1:44, including a perfect 8 of 8 from senior Dimitri Cohen to put the game away.
“We just took it one possession at a time,” said Cohen, who finished with a game-high 17 points. “We knew we had to get stops. We started getting stops at the end of the second half. We did that in overtime and that helped us a lot. We didn’t get down on each other. We played as a team and we talked about what we had to do.”
Cleveland had its chances in regulation when it took a 41-35 lead to the fourth quarter. The Warriors kept the lead for most of the quarter and even led 50-46 with 2:31 to go after junior Sean Chris Tresvant made two free throws.
Mountainside then went on a 7-1 run capped by sophomore Quinn Haveman’s layup off an assist from Cohen with 14 seconds to go for a 53-51 lead.
The close game did not faze them even after the Warriors sent the game to overtime.
“We’ve been in a couple overtimes already,” Westlake said. “Been on the losing side of buzzer-beaters. Been on the winning side of buzzer-beaters. So, these close games aren’t something we’re not used to.”
Cleveland coach Dondrale Campbell said he was frustrated and disappointed, but he took it as a learning experience for his guys.
“We didn’t do what was expected of us like we practiced,” he said. “But it’s a part of the game. Like I told them in the locker room, part of being a winner is being a loser. You got to learn how to lose. Mountainside played a really good game. They executed like I didn’t expect them to, but they did a great job. Hats off to them.”
Campbell felt his players lost a bit of poise down the stretch in overtime.
“Honestly, we beat ourselves,” he said. “We got excited. We hit the bucket to tie the game up — hasn’t happened all season. Our guys weren’t poised enough to finish in the end.”
For Cleveland, it marked the end of an impressive run to the state quarterfinals. The Warriors finished 23-4 while winning the PIL title and making the tournament for the first time since 1962 — a span of 60 years.
“I can’t put into words how proud I am of our guys and our community,” Campbell said. “It’s been 60 years. Just some of the things people said when I first got here, like, ‘You can’t win at Cleveland,’ ‘You’re not going to have a good group,’ and ‘Nobody wins at Cleveland.’ All these things and we defied the odds and shut up all the doubters and I’m very proud, very happy of my group.
“We’re going to fight and try to take some hardware home now.”
For Mountainside (20-7), the team now looks ahead to the state semifinals Friday at 3:15 p.m.
“It’s an unreal feeling,” said Westlake, who scored 15 points. “We celebrated in the locker room, so that was a good time. But we have more to do this weekend.”
Notes: Five Mountainside players scored in double figures. Baker had 13, freshman Brayden Boe added 11, and Haveman scored 10. … For Cleveland, Green had 18 points, including 14 in the first half. Jackson Cooper added 13 and Tresvant had eight.