Central Catholic adds boys basketball title to football title, rallying past Roosevelt in 6A final: ‘We did it the right way’

Zamir Paschal stood atop the ladder set up beneath the north basket at the University of Portland’s Chiles Center, a bemused look coming over his face. 

In one hand, the Central Catholic sophomore held a pair of scissors. The other grasped the net dangling from the rim.

Paschal seemed unsure of himself. “What am I supposed to do?” he asked the crowd thronged below him.

Finally, he took the scissors and cut a piece of the net for himself. 

“It was different than how I had envisioned,” Paschal said. “It was kind of confusing, but I figured it out.” 

That description also encapsulated Central Catholic’s 85-76 victory Saturday night in the OSAA Class 6A boys basketball state championship game over Roosevelt.

It didn’t go quite as the Rams might have envisioned, but in the end, they figured out a way to overcome the Roughriders and a sold-out crowd howling for the North Portland team to end its 75-year title drought.

The top seeds overcame a 13-point deficit late in the first half, turned things around completely by dominating the third quarter — outscoring Roosevelt 30-8 in the period — and kept the Roughriders at arm’s length down the stretch to win Central Catholic’s first championship since 1994 and second all-time.

“We were able to stay together as a team, stay composed and come back,” said junior Isaac Carr, a University of Oregon commit who led the charge with a game-high 26 points — 14 coming during a decisive 9½-minute stretch that saw Roosevelt’s 40-27 lead transformed to a 66-51 Rams lead by the end of the third quarter.

“We got down a little bit, and I was trying to think about how can we settle things down a little bit. So, I just attacked. My teammates trusted me with that.” 

Rams coach David Blue said Carr, like many of his teammates, “was really anxious and wanted to make some things happen. He got a little overzealous early in the game, but we settled him down a little bit and just said, ‘Hey, be patient. Your time’s gonna come. Pick your spots and don’t rush it. Trust your teammates.’

“And as soon as he did that, the game settled down for him. He threw down a thunderous two-handed dunk there, and I think that just ignited us.”

Paschal, who came up big in the closing moments of the Rams’ semifinal win Friday afternoon over two-time defending champion Tualatin, again overcame early foul trouble to also provide a lift during that 39-11 run.

“I told myself, just be smart,” said Paschal, who finished with 21 points and seven rebounds. “When I got out there the first time, I was a little jittery and all over the place. So, I had to calm myself down and stay composed.”

Blue recalled, “He told me, ‘Coach, I’ve got you.’ That’s all I needed to hear.”

Carr had seven rebounds and seven assists, and Pepperdine-bound senior Marley Zeller (11 points) and Robbie Long (10 points) also scored in double figures for the Rams, who shot 55.6% from the field (30 of 54) and were 8 of 15 on 3-pointers.

Central Catholic (27-3) not only ended the program’s 30-year title drought but became the first school in the state’s largest classification since Corvallis in 1983-84 to sweep the football and boys basketball titles in the same school year.

The Rams did so with only two players — sophomore reserves Long and James Wade III — crossing over from the gridiron to the hardwood.

Blue said he expected to find a text from Steve Pyne, who recently resigned as Rams football coach after leading them to their third title in the past four seasons, on his phone once the celebration died down.

“It’s just really hard to win a state basketball title,” Blue said. “I’m so proud of our school, our young athletes and student-athletes, and how they just represent themselves. It just speaks to the commitment that they have.”

Blue then talked about the Central Catholic community, which turned out in full force to join Roosevelt’s large fan base to pack the Chiles Center to its 4,852-seat capacity.

“It’s just special,” he said. “When you think of some of the people in our community who have passed on who are no longer with us — Sister Jerome and coach (Steve) Halligan (who led the Rams to their only previous boys basketball title) — and fortunately, we have Father Murphy still with us who goes everywhere with us.

“To bring this home to our community and represent all these people that supported us means so much because we did it the right way. We trusted one another and did it with class and character, and I don’t think there’s anything more you can ask than that.”

Roosevelt (26-3) also represented a part of the city that has waited three-quarters of a century to celebrate another basketball title and 70 years for a state championship in any sport.

“The True North community has been there with us every step of the way,” said junior Owen Nathan, who had 15 points, five rebounds and four assists before fouling out in the final minute. “We can’t thank them enough. To come out here, you couldn’t hear anything with all the noise in here. It was exhilarating.” 

The Roughriders rode that emotion early, using a 26-9 run sparked by Chance White’s buzzer-beating layup to close the opening quarter and two 3-pointers from Nathan and Utah State signee Terrence Hill Jr. (team-high 23 points, five rebounds, four assists) to build a 40-27 lead two minutes before halftime.

“We were playing great basketball there,” Nathan said. “We were hyping each other up, and then we just stopped playing for each other. Once they went on a run, we became selfish. We stopped playing together and started taking selfish shots.”

As the Rams seized the momentum in the third quarter, Roughriders coach Jamarr Lawson considered taking a timeout but held off, hoping his team could hold on until the media timeout that would come at the midway point.

He finally used one with 4:26 to go in the quarter, then another with 1:32 left, but nothing could stem the tide.

“Sometimes, we kind of play desperado,” Lawson said. “We took some quick shots and forced things instead of just playing and staying composed. This is a big-time game, and you’ve got to be able to keep your emotions under control through adversity — just being able to stay engaged and not let the bright lights get to us.

“But, you know, it’s hard. These kids, this is all they wanted and have been working for. Sometimes, it’s hard to try to control those emotions.”

Lawson spoke after emerging from the locker room almost an hour after the awards ceremony finished. Many of the faces exiting the room were tear-stained, but for Lawson, they were tears of joy.

“What these boys were able to accomplish, what they’ve done for this community, has been second to none,” he said. “When you form a brotherhood like these men, it’s something that you want to go on forever and ever. Of course, we wanted to come out on top, but regardless of the outcome, it doesn’t speak to the character of this team. It was really special.” 

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Photos by Naji Saker