Summit claims 1st boys basketball championship after wild finish vs. Wilsonville in Oregon 5A final: ‘Craziest game ever’

Mac Bledsoe catches long inbound pass from Collin Moore and lays it in as time expires to give Storm 52-50 win in OSAA title game

Author:
Bob Lundeberg
Publish date:
Mar 9, 2024 10:47 PM EST

McMINNVILLE — Despite running the point for Summit, Collin Moore is far from the team’s best alley-oop thrower.

But Moore excels as a passer and decision-maker, so he was selected to inbound the ball with 1.3 seconds remaining and the score knotted at 50-50 in the 5A state championship game. The plan was for Moore to find star Pearson Carmichael, who would hoist up a 3-pointer to finally vanquish three-time defending champion Wilsonville.

Moments before Moore received the ball from the official in front of Summit’s bench, Storm head coach Jon Frazier noticed multiple Wilsonville players were looking at Carmichael near midcourt instead of their defensive assignments. Frazier told Moore to scrap the plan in favor of a lob — yikes! — to one of the team’s best leapers: Mac Bledsoe.

Standing uncovered in the far corner, Bledsoe sprinted toward the basket and high-pointed the best alley-oop delivery of Moore’s life. The senior converted the acrobatic layup and fell to the ground as time expired, lifting the Storm to a dramatic 52-50 victory over the Wildcats at Ted Wilson Gymnasium.

“Honestly, I’m not the best oop-thrower,” said Moore, a senior. “Me and Pearson at practice, we always work on that because I’m not good at it. … I always throw it too hot, so I just lofted it up there and prayed for Mac to get all bouncy.”

Added Bledsoe: “It was a perfect pass and perfect finish. Nothing more than that.”

The walk-off victory was a welcome change for the Storm, who fell to Wilsonville in last year’s championship game, 43-36. Summit also placed second in 2022 at the 6A level.

It’s the first state title in program history.

“We’ve been playing together since fourth grade, so winning it with my boys is a great feeling, for sure,” Moore said. “From losing it the last two years, we knew we had it in us to finish this off with a W. But you just never know coming into a game like this, playing against a great, well-coached team with super-skilled players like (Kallen) Gutridge and (Kyle) Counts. We knew it was going to be a battle.”

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And what a battle it was from the opening tip between top-seeded Summit (24-4) and No. 2 Wilsonville (25-4) before an electric crowd.

Gutridge and Carmichael each scored his team’s first five points during a back-and-forth opening quarter that ended with Counts' buzzer-beating 3-pointer. Gutridge gave Wilsonville a 31-26 halftime edge with a basket in the paint.

The Storm pulled even for the first time since the early minutes on a rebound basket by Carmichael, and Moore's second-chance layup put Summit up 48-46 with 3:18 remaining.

“We’ve just been a second-half team,” Frazier said. “Third quarter, fourth quarter, we’ve always gone on runs like that.”

Carmichael powered his way through Gutridge to finish a layup with 1:30 to play, giving the Storm a 50-48 lead. Moore hounded Gutridge at the other end, forcing the future Oregon State left-handed quarterback to heave up a right-handed long-two that nearly dropped as the shot clock expired.

Gutridge shook off the miss and later sank the tying free throws with four seconds remaining after a Wilsonville stop.

“We competed,” said head coach Chris Roche, who has led Wilsonville to eight consecutive title game appearances. “They’re big and talented, and it’s hard to get good shots against them. But we were in control for quite a while and kind of lost it in the end. Like we usually do, we found a way to get right there, but ended up just two points short.”

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Controversy ensued after Gutridge’s free throws as Carmichael quickly inbounded the ball to Moore, who went coast-to-coast for what appeared to be the winning layup. But the clock didn’t start on time, and an official’s whistle sounded when Moore was near the 3-point line.

Following a lengthy discussion, Summit was awarded the ball on the right sideline with 1.3 seconds to go. The play to Carmichael was initially designed with 2.3 seconds in mind — the time on the clock when action was halted — but the Storm stuck with it after the switch to 1.3.

Until Frazier noticed the defense.

“Frazier saw everybody’s eyes turn,” Bledsoe said. “He pointed to Collin, pointed to me, and we knew what was up.”

Added Moore: “Mac’s the most bouncy kid on our team, for sure. He was in the corner and (his defender) is looking right at (Carmichael). Frazier gave Mac a little look, and he went up, caught it and finished it.

“Craziest game ever.”

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The 6-foot-7 Carmichael said Bledsoe is the best alley-oop finisher on the team.

“Mac can really jump,” said Carmichael. “The play was for me to come down and try to hit a 3, but all their heads were turned on me. It’s just nice to have someone like Mac in the corner who can jump.”

Frazier gave all the credit to Moore and Bledsoe for executing the audible in the final game of their high school careers.

“That was something we hadn’t ever practiced before, but our kids were smart enough to recognize what the opportunity was and make that adjustment on the fly,” Frazier said. “It’s fun to have great athletes who can make plays for you at the end.”

Carmichael, a Boise State signee, led the way with 27 points and seven rebounds. Moore had 12 points, and Bledsoe finished with 10 points, six rebounds and three assists.

Counts (20 points, six rebounds) and Emmitt Fee (eight points, nine rebounds) had plenty of success inside for Wilsonville while Gutridge put up 16 points, three rebounds and four assists. Moore, one of the top defensive guards in Oregon, made life difficult on Gutridge.

“Early on, I didn’t do a great job on him,” Moore said. “Second half, I definitely slowed him down, which I was happy about. He’s a lot like some of the other guards we’ve played against in this tournament. He can get to his spots, jumps really high and has a great release. It’s hard to contest him, but I was happy with how I did.”

Wilsonville had won 20 of its past 21 state tournament games entering Saturday’s final. Roche’s resume now includes three second-place finishes along with his six titles (2005, 2016-17, 2019, 2022-23).

“We had a great season, and I don’t think many people expected us to be quite what we ended up being,” Roche said. “Summit deserved it. They’ve worked hard for three years and were very close to making it happen.

“Our guys competed like champs today. They fought and played hard, and I’m proud of all of them, too.”